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Tag: Van Duzer
Van Duzer Assesses Urbano Monte's Work
More on Urbano Monte's 1587 world map, a copy of which the Rumsey Collection acquired last year (see previous entry). Chet Van Duzer presented his findings on the map and the mapmaker at Stanford last month, LiveScience reports. His conclusion? Monte was "both a mastermind and a copycat"—and not a very good artist, either. But the map is still very interesting. [WMS]
Author Jonathan CrowePosted on 19 March 2018 Format LinkCategories Antique MapsTags 1500s, planisphere, Rumsey, Urbano Monte, Van Duzer
Horror Vacui: The Fear of Blank Spaces
Olaus Magnus, Carta Marina, 1539. Detail. James Ford Bell Library.
In an article I published in 2013, I argued that one key difference between fantasy maps and the real-world medieval and early modern maps they purport to imitate is blank spaces: fantasy maps are full of blank spaces (that which is not in the story is not on the map), whereas real-world maps were covered in cartouches, sea monsters, inset illustrations and other embellishments. One of my sources for that article was a book by Chet Van Duzer: Sea Monsters on Medieval and Renaissance Maps (reviewed here).
Recently Van Duzer has been giving talks on the very subject of the lack of empty spaces on old maps. Which, as you can imagine, is very relevant to my interests. In October he spoke on the subject at the Barry Lawrence Ruderman Conference on Cartography, and earlier this month he gave a similar talk at the New York Map Society. Here's the abstract from the Ruderman Conference:
Historians of cartography occasionally refer to cartographers' horror vacui, that is, their fear or hesitancy to leave spaces blank on maps that might be filled with decorations. Some scholars have denied that this impulse was a factor in the design of maps, but the question has never been examined carefully. In this talk I will undertake such an examination, showing that horror vacui was indeed an important factor in the design of maps, at least for some cartographers, from the sixteenth to the early eighteenth century. Some of the factors that motivated cartographers' concern about empty spaces will also be examined, as will maps by cartographers who evidently did not experience this fear. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries maps began to be thought of as more purely scientific instruments, cartographic decoration declined generally, and cartographers managed to restrain their concern about spaces lacking decoration in the interest of presenting their work as modern and professional.
But since I couldn't make it to those events, all I had was that tantalizing abstract. (Publish something!) Fortunately, we now have a little more: Greg Miller has written a piece about Van Duzer's research over on the National Geographic All Over the Map blog.
Author Jonathan CrowePosted on 21 November 2017 21 November 2017 Format LinkCategories Antique MapsTags cartouches, history of cartography, horror vacui, sea monsters, Van Duzer


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Lands Shift and So Should Poems: An Interview with Jake Skeets
By Margarita Cruz
Jake Skeets (Diné) is from the Navajo Nation. He received an MFA at the Institute of American Indian Arts. His work has appeared in Word Riot, Connotation Press, The Blueshift Journal, and elsewhere, and he recently founded Cloudthroat, an online publication of Indigenous art and poetics. He is the winner of the 2018 National Poetry Series.
Skeets read alongside Laura Tohe, former Poet Laureate of the Navajo Nation, at this year's Northern Arizona Book Festival in Flagstaff. At the Festival, we spoke to Skeets about writing through Diné poetics and aesthetics, language's relationship to land, and the dual sides of the poet's craft.
Congrats on being selected for NPS 2018 Open Competition! How did you react when you first heard the news? How are you processing it now?
I actually missed the call from Beth Dial over at NPS. I did the same thing when 92Y from NYC called me about the "Discovery"/Boston Review Poetry Prize. I was at work both times I heard, so I had to refrain from being super excited. It was a shock really. I kept expecting a call or email saying it was a mistake. It felt surreal all the way up until the public announcement. Now, I can feel some nerves setting in because I worked on these poems for the past 10 years. Some of my earliest lines and images are from high school. It's been a long journey, and I'm both terrified and excited for the book to come out.
You'll be reading with the Poet Laureate of the Navajo Nation on Saturday for the NAZ Book Festival…are you excited?
I am super excited. Laura Tohe's work molded mine. Her work, along with other Diné poets like Luci Tapahonso, Sherwin Bitsui, Rex Lee Jim, and Orlando White, showed me that it's possible to write poetry as a career. It's possible to create a life out of poetry. It's an honor to be able to read alongside her. We will be by one of our sacred mountains as well, so it makes the occasion very special.
How do you describe yourself, a poet, a writer? When did you start labeling yourself as either, or do you not label yourself that way at all? How would you unconventionally describe yourself? (example: I am a tiny breakfast monster, caffeine IV drip carrier, plant mother.)
I find it difficult to still label myself as anything. However, I tend to lean toward the label of "poet." I write poetry. I study poetry. I read poetry. My whole life is about language, however. I find that poetry is my most urgent entrance to language. It may change later. Language has always found me. On my Instagram, I have the label "Loverboy" only because I love love. I love love songs, romantic comedies, break-up songs, sad relationship songs, and any other artform that is made out of love. My newer poems are beginning to challenge the definition of love because my idea of love has evolved so much since moving home to the reservation. Love from a Diné perspective looks a lot different and I want to explore that.
What does the writing process mean to you?
I find the writing process to have two parts for me. One part is the physical making of language, the act of writing or typing words. For me this part is very unpredictable. This is where the craft of poetry or language is practiced and mastered. The other part is the more spiritual, mental, and/or cosmic side of writing for me. That part, for me, is when our bodies, minds, beings are in tune with the energies that surround us. We can feel and position ourselves in relation to everything else. This is when listening becomes most important.
Your poem, such as those published in the James Franco Review ('Child Born of Water', 'One Night Stand', 'From Under His Cover'), evoke imagery of Diné culture. How important is not only culture, but identity, for you when writing? What has it become for you, culture and identity? Has it always been this way?
I was very fortunate to have been born on a reservation that is also our traditional homeland. I have a unique connection to Diné culture and identity. My entire language and thought process has been molded by Diné aesthetics and poetics (or what I like to call Dinetics). When I enter a space, I find myself making my way clockwise into the room. Only because that's how we enter a traditional hogan and is a teaching that has been rooted so deep into my thought processes. It becomes an instinct. I cannot separate Diné identity and culture from my poetry because Diné identity and culture is poetry in its purest form. Those poems are some of my earlier works. The only change I see is how I represent certain images like Child Born of Water, who is a holy person in our culture. I have since revised most of my collection to appropriately reflect those stories and energies to make sure I am not exploiting them.
The poetics of playing with space, form, is common in your published works – do you feel your work would be the same or even have the same meanings if you didn't play with form?
I wouldn't think so. I feel much of my spacing and lineation come from the mental/spiritual/cosmic side of writing that I mentioned. There is an organic energy that calls for certain representations of itself. Specifically, the way language and land interact with each other on the page definitely informs my spacing. I can't talk about poetry without talking about the land. Lands shift and so should poems. I often find that when I start to play with space and line, the poem can sometimes change. There's a spark that happens when you put two words together that weren't paired before. So most of my poems are birthed from other poems when I played around with them. I used to hate revision. That changed when I got to IAIA. My entire study became about revision and how to play with your poems. So I urge everyone to play with your poems.
← Nostalgia for the Present: An Interview with Jared Harél
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One response to "Lands Shift and So Should Poems: An Interview with Jake Skeets"
Writing the Diné Presence into Existence: An Interview with Laura Tohe – Thin Air Magazine says:
[…] the largest number of Native American writers publishing and winning awards. I'm excited by Jake Skeets, who just won a couple of poetry awards this year, Tacey Atsitty, Natalie Diaz, and Bojan Louis. […]

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Yogi Vidyattama does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
It has been almost 20 years since Indonesia faced socio-economic crises marked by internal conflicts. My recent study shows Maluku's (and North Maluku's) economy could have recorded much higher growth – an estimated 60.3% gap in 2011 – had the conflict not happened.
The economic indicator used is commonly translated to income per capita. This means the 60.3% gap would also translate into the estimated gap in income per capita. As this indicator also represents overall economic performance, the gap relates to lower business and market activities, and hence employment opportunities.
The province of Maluku (referring here to the province before its borders were redrawn in 1999) recorded one of the highest death tolls from internal conflict during the 1998–2000 period. Maluku recorded almost 5,000 deaths and hundreds of thousands of people were displaced. The region accounted for around half of all fatalities (9,399 deaths) from the country's regional conflicts during this period.
However, before my study, the impact of this conflict on the province's economy had not been calculated.
Calculating this is not an easy task because the economic downturn in Maluku could be due to the Asian financial crisis rather than the localised unrest. Therefore, this study uses "synthetic" estimates of the economy in other regions that endured the same economic downturn but did not experience violent conflict.
The method creates a synthetic control using a combination of similar provinces in the pre-conflict period. The choice of control provinces is not subjective or arbitrary but driven by data.
After excluding provinces that also had high levels of conflict, the results show the pre-conflict per-capita economy of Maluku is best fitted by a weighted combination of four provinces: Bengkulu, North Sumatra, Jambi and South Sulawesi. A comparison of the trajectories of Maluku and its synthetic estimate shows how conflict affected the local economy.
The gap between synthetic Maluku and actual Maluku widened to more than the size of the actual Maluku economy in 1999. It means the actual economy was less than half what it could have been. The gap narrowed in 2000, but then widened during 2001–2003, meaning between 1999 and 2003 actual Maluku showed no signs of catching up with its synthetic control.
By 2011, the gap between the two Malukus had increased to 60.3% of the actual Maluku economy. The trajectories support the view that the persistence of violence, including the incident in 2004, is the reason the real economy trajectory is considerably affected.
Based on quick estimation for 2016, the gap between the two Malukus hasn't changed much. This shows conditions in Maluku have stabilised in the past five years but this does not allow the economic trend to get back to where it used to be.
Since the methodology could not directly explain the reason for the gap, the study further investigated this. Looking at other conflict areas in Indonesia, it could be argued the scale and length of the conflicts in Maluku have rendered the province unable to recover more quickly.
Another investigation looked at the conditions affecting Maluku's economic performance – also known as growth determinants – in comparison to its synthetic counterpart.
In the period 1985-1998, the conditions between synthetic and actual did not have exactly the same trajectory but there was not much fluctuation in them. After the 1999 conflict, the relative value of manufacturing industry and infrastructure dropped only slightly compared to the synthetic counterpart. However, the relative value of investment and mining dropped considerably.
This trajectory indicates plunging business confidence. The relative value of infrastructure has slowly returned to its pre-crisis position after five years, boosted by government funding. But private sector investment, and hence private economic activities, did not return to Maluku after the crisis and conflicts.
One important lesson from this study is the potential impact of local conflict in Indonesia. This has become important considering competition among local political elites tends to raise tensions that could go beyond local elections.
According to a report by Cutura and Watanabe (2004), the conflict in North Maluku is also affected by a centuries-long political rivalry between the Sultans of Ternate and Tidore and political tensions related to the gubernatorial election at that time.
Although the study cannot conclusively say the results for Maluku were due to violent conflict alone, it shows the economy might have been able to bounce back if the violence had not continued for so long. The prolonged nature of the conflict, accompanied by significant violence across the province, seems to have eroded business confidence, in turn affecting the economic performance of Maluku.
Therefore, one implication of this study is that it is essential not only to prevent violent conflict, but also to make sure that when it does erupt, it does not last long. Addressing conflict quickly is important to restore business confidence and private investment and prevent long-term impact on the local economy.
But there is one danger of central government intervention. The conflict may change from a horizontal conflict (a dispute confined to the region) to a vertical conflict (a conflict with the central government). Therefore, any intervention to resolve a local conflict will require the involvement of community leaders.
The full version of this article is published in the December 2017 issue of the Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies.


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Try our delicious homemade burgers and sausages.


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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Via Penguin Press
The Violent Haunting That Rattled an English Suburb
Kate Summerscale on Ghost Hunter Nandor Fodor
By Kate Summerscale
At his office in South Kensington on Monday, February 21, 1938, Nandor Fodor opened a letter from an East End clergyman of his acquaintance. The Reverend Francis Nicolle wanted to alert him to a poltergeist attack in the suburb of Thornton Heath, just south of London, which had been the subject of a report in that weekend's Sunday Pictorial.
"I wonder whether you have seen it?" wrote Nicolle. "Unfortunately the actual address is not given." The minister thought that the haunting sounded even more remarkable than a similar case in east London that he had helped Fodor to investigate that month.
Fodor, a Jewish-Hungarian journalist, had for four years been chief ghost hunter at the International Institute for Psychical Research. He loved his job, which required him to investigate and verify weird events, but the spiritualist press had recently turned against him. The bestselling weekly Psychic News accused him of being cynical about the supernatural and unkind to mediums, charges that were so damaging to his reputation as a psychical researcher—and his future in England—that in January he had sued for libel. He was now desperate to prove his sincerity and his aptitude: he needed to find a ghost.
Fodor obtained a copy of the latest Pictorial. The paper had run the poltergeist story next to a giant cut-out photograph of Adolf Hitler, who was poised to invade Austria, so that the news of the haunting seemed to issue from the Führer's shouting mouth. "'GHOST' WRECKS HOME," ran the headline, "FAMILY TERRORISED."
According to the Pictorial's report, the disturbance emanated from Alma Fielding, a 34-year-old housewife who lived in Thornton Heath, in the borough of Croydon, with her husband, their son and a lodger. A week earlier, on Sunday, February 13th, Alma had been seized by a pain in her pelvis while she was visiting friends in the neighborhood. She hurried home, trembling and burning, and took herself to bed. Having suffered from kidney complaints since she was a girl, she had a stock of antibacterial medicine to fight infection and sedatives to help her sleep. She dosed herself with both. As she shivered and sweated in her bedroom, a strong wind swept across south-east England, driving sheets of rain, sleet and snow through the streets of Croydon at 80 miles an hour.
Alma was laid up for days. In the middle of the week, she was joined in bed by her husband, Leslie, who usually worked as a builder and decorator. His gums were bleeding heavily, his teeth having been pulled so that he could be fitted with dentures. Through Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, reported the Sunday Pictorial, Les and Alma lay together, his mouth leaking blood, her abdomen pulsing with pain, a bright frost lining the trees and walls outside their twin windows. The storms died down, but the air remained wintry and sharp. Alma noticed a peculiar, six-digit handprint on the mirror above the bedroom fireplace. Perhaps her fever or the drugs were inducing hallucinations.
The house seemed to be under siege from itself.
Towards midnight on Friday, Alma and Les were trying to sleep when they heard something shatter nearby. Alma turned on her bedside lamp. She and Les saw the shards of a broken tumbler on the floor and then, suddenly, another glass flew past and splintered against the wall. They waited, terrified. The room fell quiet.
"Put the light out," said Les. "Let's see what happens."
When Alma turned off her lamp a dank wind moved through the room, lifting the eiderdown so that it swam up at them and fell over their faces.
"Switch on the light," said Les. "Quickly."
Alma tried to turn on the lamp, but nothing happened. Nor did the light come on when Les reached over and pressed the switch himself. Alma shouted for help. Their 16-year-old son, Donald, crossed the landing from his bedroom, but as he opened the door he had to duck to dodge a flying pot of face cream. George, the lodger, edged in after him, and was hit by two coins—a shilling and a penny. The pair of them drew back, and Don hurried downstairs to fetch matches. When he returned he struck a match and made his way by its flame to the lamp at his mother's bedside. The bulb had vanished from the socket. It was found, unbroken and still hot to the touch, on a chair on the other side of the room.
Everyone was shaken, but after half an hour things seemed to have calmed down. At about twenty to one Don and George went to their beds. They all eventually fell asleep.
The next morning Alma was feeling well enough to go downstairs, but an egg smashed when she was in the kitchen; a saucer snapped. She didn't know what to do—a ghost hardly seemed a matter for the police—so she placed a call to the offices of the Sunday Pictorial. The newspaper was running a series on the supernatural and had invited readers to write in with their experiences.
"Come to my house," Alma implored the Pictorial's news desk. "There are things going on here I cannot explain."
The Sunday Pic, as it was known to its readers, despatched two reporters to Thornton Heath. As Alma opened the front door to the Pictorial men that afternoon, they saw an egg fly down the corridor to land a yard from their feet. As she led them to the kitchen, a pink china dog rattled to the floor and a sharp-bladed tin opener cut through the air at head height.
In the front parlor, a teacup and saucer lifted out of Alma's hands as she sat with her guests, the saucer spinning and splintering as if shot in mid-air. She screamed as a second saucer exploded in her fingers and sliced into her thumb. While the gash was being bandaged, the reporters heard smashing in the kitchen: a wine glass had apparently escaped a locked cabinet and shattered on the floor. They saw an egg whirl in through the living-room door to crack against the sideboard. A giant chunk of coal rose from the grate, sailed across the room, inches from the head of one of the reporters, and smacked into the wall. The house seemed to be under siege from itself.
Les, Don, and George were at home but, as far as the Pictorial men could tell, none of them was responsible for the phenomena: the objects were propelled by an unseen force. A crowd had gathered in the street outside. Among the bystanders, the reporters found a palm reader who went by the name of Professor Morisone (otherwise Mr. Morrison), and invited him in to the house. The clairvoyant advised Alma that she was a very strong "carrier" of ectoplasm, the floating filmy substance with which some mediums materialized spirits. He said that the tumult in her home was a message of warning, and that her son was in danger.
The ghosts of Britain, meanwhile, were livelier than ever.
The Pictorial published its piece the next morning, under the slogan: "This is the most curious front page story we have ever printed." In an ordinary terrace in Thornton Heath, it declared, "some malevolent, ghostly force is working miracles. Poltergeist… That's what the scientists call it. The Spiritualists? They say it's all caused by a mischievous earth-bound spirit."
On an inside page, the paper ran a photograph of Alma, Don and George—"the occupants of the house of fear"—gazing warily at a large lump of coal.
Fodor was gripped by the Pictorial's story. He hoped that this poltergeist would provide him with the proof of the supernatural that he needed. It might also help him to develop his more daring ideas about the occult. The word "poltergeist," from the German for "noisy spirit," had been popularized in Britain in the 1920s, but no one knew what poltergeists really were: hoaxes by the living; hauntings by the dead; spontaneous discharges of electrical energy. Fodor, having read the work of Sigmund Freud, wondered if they might be kinetic forces unleashed by the unconscious mind. He noticed that the Thornton Heath poltergeist centered on one woman. It had sparked into life in the bedroom, and seemed at first to direct its violence at the men of the house.
Fodor knew that he must act quickly. The International Institute was one of several psychical research bodies in London, and other ghost hunters would be sure to take an interest in this haunting. Poltergeist attacks were in any case usually short-lived, sometimes lasting for only a few days. He composed a letter to the Sunday Pictorial's new editor, the 24-year-old wunderkind Hugh Cudlipp, asking if he could "come in" on the case. Would Cudlipp be good enough to give him the haunted family's address in Thornton Heath? Reminding Cudlipp that he had already submitted several articles about uncanny events to the Pictorial, Fodor promised to report back on anything that he found.
Like everyone in Britain, Fodor was also following the political news with disquiet. The Pictorial reported that the prime minister, Neville Chamberlain, had called an emergency Cabinet meeting to address the threat posed by the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini; and that Adolf Hitler had massed 80,000 troops on the Austrian border, ready to invade. That Sunday, Hitler made a defiant three-hour speech in which he demanded the return of German land surrendered in the Treaty of Versailles.
Britain was braced for war. Twenty-five million gas masks had been manufactured by late February, schools were being commandeered for air-raid training, and trial blackouts were being staged throughout the land. The town of Jarrow in north-eastern England was seized with panic when an oxygen works went up in flames that month, reported the Pictorial. As exploding metal canisters shot across the River Tyne, the residents fled their homes in terror, convinced that enemy planes were bombing the munitions factories.
"It was an amazing scene," said the paper. "Cripples, frantic women pushing prams, aged people, all scantily dressed, massed in a terrified throng." Several war veterans collapsed, apparently with symptoms of shell shock.
"Ordinary chaps that I meet everywhere," says the narrator of George Orwell's Coming Up For Air, "chaps that I run across in pubs, bus drivers, and traveling salesmen for hardware firms, have a feeling that the world's gone wrong. They can feel things cracking and collapsing under their feet." They have a "kind of prophetic feeling," he says, "that war's just around the corner and that war's the end of all things."
For many, the dread was sharpened with flashbacks—"mental pictures of the shellbursts and the mud." If the first world war of the century had been devastating, the next was expected to be apocalyptic.
The ghosts of Britain, meanwhile, were livelier than ever. Almost a thousand people had written to the Pictorial in February to describe their encounters with wraiths and revenants, while other papers reported on a spirit vandalizing a house in Stornoway, in the Outer Hebrides, and on a white-draped figure seen gliding through the Hawker aircraft factory in Kingston upon Thames.
The nation's phantoms were distractions from anxiety, expressions of anxiety, symptoms of a nervous age. Fodor had been in Britain for less than a decade, but as a ghost hunter he had already become intimate with his new country's fantasies and fears.
Excerpted from The Haunting of Alma Fielding: A True Ghost Story. Used with the permission of the publisher, Penguin Press, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC. Copyright © 2021 by Kate Summerscale.
BritainGeorge OrwellInternational Institute for Psychical ResearchKate SummerscaleLondonNandor FodorPenguin PressPenguin Publishing GroupPenguin Random HousepoltergeistsSigmund FreudThe Haunting of Alma FieldingWorld War II
Kate Summerscale
Kate Summerscale, formerly the literary editor of the Daily Telegraph, is the author of The Queen of Whale Cay, which was short-listed for the Whitbread Biography Prize. The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher was a #1 bestseller in the UK, won the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction and the British Book Awards Book of the Year. Summerscale lives in London.
Objectophilia: On the People Who Fall in Love with Inanimate Things
Rachel Cusk on Writing Without Feeling Like a Writer
The first known case was in 1979. Eija-Riitta had seen the Berlin Wall on television at the age of seven and, struck by its long,...


Reflections of a Bookaholic: Follower Appreciation Extravaganza (900): Giveaway of the "Awesomes"
Follower Appreciation Extravaganza (900): Giveaway of the "Awesomes"
I'm the first to admit that my rating system is a bit peculiar. I rate books using faces because they express the emotions I feel after completing a book. My lowest rating is Yuck and my highest rating is Awesome. In between we have Meh and Good.
Yuck ratings usually mean that I am mad that I started the book and had to finish it (I finish all books I start). It is also a rating that I give to a book where I feel like I utterly wasted my time and got NOTHING out of the experience. This does not mean that there isn't someone else who wouldn't enjoy it. It just means that I wouldn't recommend it.
Meh ratings mean that the book didn't do it for me. Usually there is something so irritating or awful that it overwhelms all the positive things about the book. I'm often indifferent about these books. Again, I don't assume that others won't like it. I just won't recommend it myself. I may or may not feel like reading the book was a waste of my time.
Good ratings are the books that are really good. I enjoyed them. It was a pleasant experience and I would recommend it to people who like similar books. Many of these books would fall into my favorites list. There may be irritating things in the book but overall, the good outweighs the bad by a long shot.
The Awesome ratings are few and far between. In my 9 months of blogging, there have been only 15 books given the awesome rating (This number may have changed...I am currently writing this post in September I have a whole month for those stats to change!). These are books that I would recommend to all readers, regardless of preferences. These are books that well-written, engaging, and often inspiring (but not always). These books have the "it" factor.
This is a giveaway of books that have received the Awesome rating here at Reflections of a Bookaholic!! I know that was a long-winded way to get to the point. But there it is.
The Prize: 1 US winner may choose out of the books below and will also get The Great Gatsby Bag. 1 International winner may choose any book that has been given an awesome rating before September 15. This may seem a bit unfair but there is a US only giveaway so it evens out.
International prizes: Click on this link to see the books that were given an Awesome Rating (with the exception of Treasure Me).
To Enter: Fill out this form. You must be a follower.


text:
Q: Why did my Kinect framerate slow down? I've used Kinect Studio with high framerate lately it's quite choppy. I tried the same camera on another computer and it ran as expected.

*

*Using powered adapter

*Using USB 3.0

*Using Windows 10

I've tried unplugging other usb devices with no luck. How can I troubleshoot this further? Could it be related to recently installed software?

A: Someone added a USB extension to the end of the Kinect. It was a USB 3.0 extension from "Amazon Basics". I bypassed the extension and everything worked as expected.
I'm surprised as the extension works fine with the Oculus but not the Kinect. I guess the Kinect must max out the amount of info a USB 3 cable can throughput.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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History / Information
Rhino was originally a novelty song and reissue company during the 1970s and 1980s, releasing compilation albums of pop, rock & roll, and rhythm & blues successes from the 1950s through the 1980s. They were also known for releasing retrospectives of famous comedy performers, including Richard Pryor, Stan Freberg, Tom Lehrer, and Spike Jones. During 1986, Rhino signed a six-year distribution agreement with Capitol Records. During 1989 Rhino and Capitol's parent EMI made a deal to jointly acquire Roulette Records; Rhino received the US rights to Roulette's catalog, excluding jazz. When the distribution deal with Capitol ended in 1992, Rhino signed a new distribution deal with Atlantic Records, and in turn Time Warner bought a 50% stake in the record company. In 1998, Time Warner bought the other half of Rhino; thus the company became a wholly owned unit of Time Warner. Home Video Starting during the late 1980s, Rhino transitioned into a complete entertainment company specializing in home video re-issues of television programs such as The Transformers, G.I. Joe, Jem, The Lone Ranger, My Favorite Martian, The World of Sid & Marty Krofft collection and Mystery Science Theater 3000, and compact disc releases of select artists and movie soundtracks. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhino_Entertainment)
Mystery Science Theater 300024
Bell Science8
Teenage Theater6
Midnight Madness5
A Cinematic Scrapbook3
Drama Classics1
Related Distributors1
Acme Video
Sub-label.
JeremyJB 2 years 4 months ago
There was one more Teenage Theater release. It was called 'Teenage Confidential" and was a documentary look at old JD films. It also feature promos by Van Doren.


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Lord of the Rings Headlines
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: Synopsis For Amazon Series Reveals Setting, Locations, And A "Long-Feared Evil"
There's a lot of excitement surrounding Amazon's big budget The Lord of the Rings TV series, and a newly revealed synopsis sheds some light on everything from the setting to location, and even the villain!
LORD OF THE RINGS Amazon Series Adds 20 To Cast, Including Cynthia Addai-Robinson & Lenny Henry
Amazon's upcoming Lord of the Rings series has added a whopping 20 supporting players to its already sprawling cast, including Sir Lenny Henry (Broadchurch), and Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Arrow)...
ComicBrooks
THE HOBBIT Exclusive: VFX Artist And Actor Jarom Sidwell On The Immense Detail That Went Into Creating Orcs
Jarom Sidwell was the Visual Effects Director for The Hobbit, in which he also played an orc. Speaking exclusively with us about his new game, he dished on the preparation that went into creating the orcs.
THE LORD OF THE RINGS Star Hugo Weaving Rules Out Returning As Elrond In Amazon Prequel Series
Captain America: The First Avenger star Hugo Weaving delivered a memorable turn as Elrond in The Lord of the Rings films, but rules out ever reprising the role in the upcoming Amazon prequel series!
THE LORD OF THE RINGS Exclusive: John Rhys-Davies Says Playing Treebeard Was Tougher Than Gimli
We recently spoke exclusively with actor John Rhys-Davies in support of his newest film, G-Loc, and we had to ask about his time playing Gimli and Treebeard in The Lord of the Rings! Check it out below!
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: 20 Best Moments From Peter Jackson's Iconic Trilogy (Part 2)
We're back with the second part of our look at the best moments in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and if you're curious to see what made it to #1, then you definitely need to hit the jump to find out...
Works is about to resume on The Lord of the Rings TV series in New Zealand, but we're now looking back at Peter Jackson's big screen trilogy to recap the best moments from the iconic film franchise...
THE LORD OF THE RINGS, COWBOY BEBOP, & POWER RANGERS Allowed To Resume Filming In New Zealand
In addition to James Cameron's Avatar sequel and Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog, New Zealand has granted five additional productions border exemptions to allow the resumption of filming.
LORD OF THE RING And ALIEN Actor Sir Ian Holm Has Passed Away At The Age Of 88
Some sad news to report this morning, as we've just received word that legendary Academy Award-nominated British actor Ian Holm (The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Alien) has passed away at the age of 88...
BATWOMAN Star Dougray Scott Reflects On Losing Aragorn Role In THE LORD OF THE RINGS
In a new interview, Batwoman star Dougray Scott reveals how close he came to playing Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings after previously missing out on the role of Wolverine thanks to Mission: Impossible II.
Amazon's LORD OF THE RINGS Shuts Down Indefinitely In New Zealand Due To Coronavirus Outbreak
While countless productions have been closed down due to the Coronavirus pandemic, we may have our first real delay as work on The Lord of the Rings has been put on an indefinite hold in New Zealand...
LORD OF THE RINGS Amazon Series Adds YEARS AND YEARS Actor Maxim Baldry In A Lead Role
Amazon recently unveiled what we assumed was the full cast for its upcoming Lord of the Rings series, but now we have word on a later addition. Maxim Baldry has joined the ensemble in a lead role...
LORD OF THE RINGS Amazon Series Unveils Its Full Cast - Meet The New Fellowship
Amazon has already revealed a few of the leads for its Lord of the Rings series, but the streaming service has now unveiled the entire main cast. Will any of these names be familiar? Find out here...
CEO Confirms Daedalic Entertainment Has A Contract To Make More Middle Earth Games Than GOLLUM
There have been announcements of both a prequel series to Lord of the Rings coming to Amazon Prime and an upcoming video game revolving around Middle Earth's Gollum. More information on the latter below!


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- Breaking News Related to Macular Degeneration, Cataract, Glaucoma, Corneal Disease and Other Eye Conditions - http://eyedocnews.com -
Implantable Miniature Telescope for AMD From VisionCare Ophthalmic Technologies Secures Approval From FDA Ophthalmic Devices Advisory Panel
Posted By Dr. Ari Weitzner On April 2, 2009 @ 10:22 am In Industry News,Macular Degeneration,New Technologies,Retina | Comments Disabled
Earlier this week, VisionCare Ophthalmic Technologies, Inc., ("VOT") a developer of advanced visual prosthetic devices for individuals with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), announced that the FDA Ophthalmic Devices Advisory Panel unanimously recommended that the FDA approve, with conditions, the premarket application (PMA) for VOT's Implantable Miniature Telescope ("IMT") for End-Stage AMD. The IMT is the first medical device to be recommended by the panel for FDA approval for End-Stage AMD.
The FDA usually follows the recommendations of an advisory panel, but is not required to do so.
Data from clinical studies conducted by leading eye surgeons and vision experts was presented to the panel. The panel recommended approval of the device with conditions including post-approval surveillance and labeling suggestions. The panel decision was reached by a vote of 8to 0.
Approval came despite the device's association with loss of corneal cells over time. According to an article on medpage Today [1], four years after the implant, about 15% of patients will have a significant depletion in endothelial cells, which can lead to corneal edema, according to an estimate by the panel's biostatistician, Karen Bandeen-Roche, Ph.D., of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
An earlier application by VisionCare for the device in 2006 had been rejected due to the higher-than-expected cell loss in the implanted eye. As reported in the medpage Today article referenced above, the current application had a much narrower indication than the earlier one. The device was originally intended for patients 55 and older, but the sponsors bumped the age requirement up to 65. The new application also excludes patients with corneal guttata, and those who have an anterior chamber depth of less than 3 mm. Patients must also have retinal cell counts that are normal for their age group before receiving the implant.
The IMT is designed to be a solution for moderate to profound vision loss due to advanced, end-stage forms of AMD that have no current surgical or medical treatment options.
As described by the company, the implanted telescope, together with the cornea, acts as a telephoto system to enlarge images 3X or 2.2X, depending on the device model used. The telephoto effect allows images in the central visual field ('straight ahead vision') to not be focused directly on the damaged macula, but over other healthy areas of the central and peripheral retina. This generally helps reduce the 'blind spot' impairing vision in patients with AMD, hopefully improving their ability to recognize images that were either difficult or impossible to see.
The prosthetic telescope is implanted by an ophthalmic surgeon in an outpatient surgical procedure. The device is implanted in one eye, which provides central vision as described above, while the non-implanted eye provides peripheral vision for mobility and navigation. After the surgical procedure, the patient participates in a structured vision rehabilitation program to maximize their ability to perform daily activities. Situated in the eye, the device allows patients to use natural eye movements to scan the environment and reading materials.
Article printed from Breaking News Related to Macular Degeneration, Cataract, Glaucoma, Corneal Disease and Other Eye Conditions: http://eyedocnews.com
URL to article: http://eyedocnews.com/00789-implantable-miniature-telescope-for-amd-from-visioncare-ophthalmic-technologies-secures-approval-from-fda-ophthalmic-devices-advisory-panel/
[1] medpage Today: http://www.medpagetoday.com/Ophthalmology/GeneralOphthalmology/13503
Click here to print.
Copyright © 2008 Eye Doc Talk. All rights reserved.


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using namespace RaspberryLib;

void PrintProcess();
void PrintProcess2();
void PrintProcess3();
void PrintProcess4();
void test1();

#endif


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NewsMusic
Tom Morello speaks about his unlikely friendship with Ted Nugent
"While we certainly have differences, I consider him a friend."
By Cillian Breathnach
Images: Ollie Millington / Chip Somodevilla / Getty
Tom Morello has spoken about his friendship with Ted Nugent, and how it relates to their wildly differing political views.
Morello is known for his left-wing views, and Nugent is known for being an outspoken conservative. Morello told the Howard Stern Show how the friendship began, despite their differences: "For his 60th birthday, someone reached out to me and said, 'We're making a video, and we're asking guitar players [to contribute].
"At the time, the Ted Nugent which was sort of known in the world in general was this kind of more right-wing caricature – people were not thinking of him, first and foremost, as the guy who shredded on Stranglehold. But then I had to think, 'What is the video that I'm going to make for Ted's birthday?' And I put some thought into it, and I said, 'It's gonna be about two things. One, it's gonna be things that Tom Morello and Ted Nugent have in common,' and I went down this long list: free-speech advocates, our love of rock and roll, our respect for black artists who created rock and roll…
And then the second was things that Ted Nugent taught an adolescent Tom Morello about sex. And then I went through the lyrics to the song Cat Scratch Fever, the lyrics to the song Wang Dang Sweet Poontang, which were utterly foreign to me, and I had to ask about on the playground. Anyway, so Ted called me up after that. And while we certainly have differences, I consider him a friend."
Nugent was a fervent supporter of former US president Donald Trump, and circulated claims of electoral fraud following Joe Biden's victory last year. He claimed that "hundreds of thousands of dead people" had their vote counted, and that machines were "rigged" to give a Donald Trump vote to Joe Biden.
Morello, on the other hand, called Trump an "orange-faced demagogue" and has played shows with "fuck Trump" written on his guitar.
You can see a snippet of Morello's interview below.
For more music news, click here.
Tom Morello


The Decheerans are an extremely long-lived race of genderless, tree-like bipeds native to the planet Atria. They are a member race of the Song Dominion.
Physically resembling trees, Decheerans have a somewhat humanoid appearance. They do have an analog to smell, and have a very keen sense of it. They can smell layer upon layer of scents simultaneously, combining into a kind of aroma symphony. In particular, they love the deeply subtle scents of forests and swamps.
Decheerans reproduce asexually, via a process called "budding." A Decheeran who is willing spends some time meditating in a forest or other suitable location, and sheds an arm or a leg when it wants to spawn a new Decheeran. The proto-Decheeran roots itself to the ground, and that's the last intentional contact a Decheeran has with its "children." They don't recognize or care later who spawned them, or whom they spawned. The proto-Decheeran then spends ~30 years growing, slowly, gaining in sentience until one day, it decides to unroot and move, at which point it is considered an adult Decheeran.
The Decheerans first achieved spaceflight around 105,000 B.E., making them among the older Younger Races.
They don't have families or any concept of one. What they do have are groups of Decheerans called Groves. These are completely voluntary associations of Decheerans who bond with each other by rooting in a group together for a period of time, after which they are closely allied and can very vaguely feel the emotional state of other Grove members. It is possible to voluntarily cut off your connection with a Grove, but it's not possible to eject an individual unwillingly from a Grove.
They have an interesting view on technology generally. They certainly use it and are actually quite adept with it. They live in their native forests with technology, but it's usually blended with or accompanied by significant organic material. That might be anything from having living trees on their starships to deep bonds between nanotech and organic tech in their planet-bound dwellings.
They don't have a government as such, though they do have those who speak for the will of the majority of Decheerans, called Speakers. There's also a First Speaker, who will speak for them in the most important cases, but these are not leaders as such.
They don't have a formal religion, but they do speak reverentially of the force they believe allows them to form Groves - called the Tal. It's not a god as such, and it dictates nothing for them behavior-wise. They don't personify it either, choosing to simply revere the idea of it.
This page was last modified on 7 July 2018, at 21:54.


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Jury verdict for a man called "Downer"
By Eva Knott, October 3, 2012
When a woman reported that her ex-boyfriend was threatening her, Escondido police tracked him through cell-phone use to a trailer park – the man appeared to be lurking near the mobile home where the woman lived with her mother.
It was after midnight, in the early morning minutes of Feb 9, 2012, when police confronted Sergio Alejandro Lopez.
Lopez drew a handgun and fired two shots at police, but officers did not return fire, according to a statement released by Escondido police. No person was struck by any bullet. The SWAT team and Emergency Negotiations Teams and a helicopter and other police agencies responded, and despite hours of searching, the suspect was not found in the area.
After some hours, Escondido police released a statement saying they were "seeking the assistance from the public in locating Lopez" but "do not try and contact or detain Lopez as he is believed to be armed and extremely dangerous."
Three months later, 25-year-old Sergio Alejandro Lopez was handed over to U.S. Marshals by Mexican authorities, that was on May 9, 2012. Lopez is said to be a U.S. citizen.
Last month, Lopez went on trial. He faced seven counts, including assaulting a peace officer with firearm and making criminal threats and disobeying a protective court order to prevent domestic violence. This is a third strike case so Lopez could face life in prison.
Lopez is described as a "documented" member of the West Side Gang, with "WSG" tattoo'd on his neck, and his moniker is "Downer," according to police records. Court records for Lopez start in 2005, the year he turned 18 -- he admitted meth possession and resisting officer and was immediately released on unsupervised probation.
A week after his release, Lopez beat and stabbed a man in Escondido -- the victim had the nerve to report his car stolen, according to police. "Downer" admitted personal-use-of-a-knife-during-assault in a plea deal. Although he accepted a 4-year-prison term in that deal, signed in October 2005, Lopez was out on probation in 2006. In April of that year, Lopez was charged with assaulting two persons with a baseball bat. He admitted using the baseball bat on one person, and got another 4 year prison sentence. In 2010 he was charged with felony domestic violence, that was reduced to a misdemeanor in a plea deal.
Yesterday a jury declared Sergio Alejandro Lopez guilty of negligent discharge of firearm and felon in possession of firearm and misdemeanor resisting arrest -- these offenses committed in "Downer's" most recent brush with Escondido police, the confrontation in the trailer park last February.
Defense attorney Andrew Limberg suggested that the jury may have been persuaded that Lopez and his girlfriend had one of those relationships with a lot of "drama"-- because the jury declared him not-guilty on both counts related to threatening her. The jury also refused to find Lopez guilty of the most serious charge, assaulting an officer with a semi-automatic weapon.
Defense attorney Andrew Limberg said he spoke to two jurors after the verdict. He reported they were not convinced Lopez took aim and fired while he was running away, as some witnesses testified, instead they felt it was more likely Lopez unintentionally fired his handgun while fleeing.
Sentencing for Sergio Alejandro Lopez is set for December 5 in Judge Robert Kearney's courtroom in San Diego's North County Superior Courthouse.
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/03/32767/"> https://media.sandiegoreader.com/img/photos/2012/10/03/EPD_released_this_photo_when_he_was_a_fugitive.jpg" alt="Fugitive photo released by Escondido police when Sergio Lopez ran.">
https://media.sandiegoreader.com/img/photos/2012/10/03/EPD_released_this_photo_when_he_was_a_fugitive.jpg">Fugitive photo released by Escondido police when Sergio Lopez ran. by Eva Knott
SurfPuppy619
Oct. 3, 2012 @ 9:53 p.m.
Got cleared of the most serious charges, the two other felonies are serious, as all felonies are, but in the grand scheme of things he did pretty good. He will not be facing 25-life.


But one thing we do know, is that if money-minded people devise a currency-scheme, or an investment-scheme, and if those people are also honest in how they do it, it is not a habit to invest a lot of money, and then to decide on one day to shut down the whole system, and to say, as of 2032 the system will be worthless, because an activity needs to take place beyond that point in time, to allow the investment to continue earning income, but that that activity will just become mathematically impossible, in one sudden year.
What we do know, is that at the time I'm writing this, more than 75% of the Bitcoins that will exist, have already been mined. These are ultimately just numbers and not discrete entities. We also know that the mining of blocks does not need to keep creating new Bitcoins, in order to earn income for the mining pools. The blocks contain transactions, and the pools receive transaction fees.
Now, we could take this analysis a bit further, and ask, 'Is it fair for the block reward to get halved every 210,000 blocks?' I suppose that depends on who it's supposed to be fair to. By holding back the actual amount of Bitcoins, the people who designed the system were limiting supply, in the expectation that demand will continue to increase, which also increases the value of 1 Bitcoin, in terms of other existing currencies.
This will make it more expensive to 'buy' 1 Bitcoin, but also means that if the Bitcoin is being used as a currency, products and services will end up costing smaller fractions of a Bitcoin. At the same time, while some people have purchased Bitcoins as a kind of investment, the value of those will increase, in that the Bitcoin-price of anything else will decrease, so that those people are likely to be kept happy.
OTOH, There does not only exist the supply of actual Bitcoins. There also exist limitations in block size – which are currently capped at 1MB – which restrict the total number of transactions that can take place. Again assuming that each block can only edify 2000 transactions, and that only 1 block can be mined in 10 minutes, this means that only 2000 transactions per 600 seconds will be supported – while the true size in bytes of 1 transaction will vary – but these assumptions also imply that a maximum of ~3 transactions can take place per second, on average. This will place a serious obstacle in the way of Bitcoin actually becoming a currency. We would not see that the maximum number of transactions which can take place in ?Canadian dollars? would be capped at 3 per second, and so it should not be for Bitcoin. Unless, this was just supposed to be some sort of commodity, for the sake of people speculating in that commodity.
But then it also follows, that transaction fees will start to increase. It might be nice to say that a certain product will only cost 0.55 millibit. But when it also turns out that the fee for 1 transaction has become 1.00 millibit, because that transaction takes up 500 Bytes of a block, then the transaction fee has exceeded the value of the product or service, so that to buy this product or service becomes unviable. Therefore, a shortage in transactions does not have the same implication, as an increase in the value or cost, of a unit of a currency, or of a commodity.


text:
Solanum candidum är en potatisväxtart som beskrevs av John Lindley. Solanum candidum ingår i potatissläktetsom ingår i familjen potatisväxter. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Externa länkar

Potatissläktet
candidum

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Won't You Play Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song
Topic: "Peaceful Easy Feelin"(3)
"Long Road Out of Eden" is an album that will soon join the 120 million already sold by a group of 60 year-olds known as The Eagles. This time however, they risk a political theme or two as the clouds of climate change and war obscure the horizon. Frodo notes the fact that this album has been six years in the making, and that sends him off to research exactly how long it took Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The reviews that Frodo has seen so far seem to indicate that although the music isn't memorable, the lyrics soar, as if penned by a real live Eagle.
The title track reprises the good-time driving that the Eagles produced so many years ago in the classic song "Take It Easy." Frodo hears "music blasting from an SUV on a bright and sunny day rolling down the interstate in the good ol' USA." Then, from the opposite direction, a drunk-driver, "weaving down the American highway through the litter and the wreckage and the cultural junk bloated with entitlement, loaded on propaganda." The song ends with, taa daa (as promoted by Frodo), Julius Caesar, saying: "The road to empire is a bloody, stupid waste."
From political point to what seems to be a Barack Obama argument for change, the sign off of the album are the words "The curtain falls, I take my bow, that's how it's meant to be. It's your world now."
Words and music, music and words; available at Wal-Mart, and Frodo wonders if he can still dance to the music?
Updated: Tuesday, October 30, 2007 8:59 PM EDT
We Made Our Mistakes Along The Way
Topic: "Dueling Banjos" (3)
Some years ago Frodo gave up news magazines, not because he didn't like them but because the unread simply assumed gargantuan status in almost every available nook and cranny. Occasionally however, a cover catches his eye, and a single-item purchase seems completely justified. Such is the case with the October 29th edition of NEWSWEEK which, on the cover, has a photograph of angry Islamic students with a title "The Most Dangerous Nation In The World Isn't Iraq." The article itself is both engrossing and fully worth the purchase price of the magazine, but it was something else inside that really struck Frodo's imagination.
Recognizing Frodo's penchant for life imitating art, it was Christopher Dickey, son of the author James, who penned a single page article which brought a racing mind to the starting gate. Celebrating the DVD re-release of "Deliverance," Dickey compares the screenplay of his father with the events leading up to and including the Pre-Emptive Iraq War.
In summary, the plot was simple enough, four suburbanites from Atlanta go canoeing in the mountains and find out that the wild river and the people around it are much more than what they anticipated. The character Lewis (portrayed by Burt Reynolds) is the "ubermensch" who believes that it is his destiny to overcome against all obstacles. In the end however, it is Ed (portrayed by Jon Voight), the ordinary man, who transcends himself in order to survive. He is motivated entirely by fear and like the rest of the entourage (Ronny Cox and Ned Beatty), believes that Lewis is a little bit nuts.
Dickey agrees with them, and compares Lewis to Vice President Dick Cheney's "closet fantasy of himself" and, indeed, the entire Bush administration. Ed is merely all the rest of us, and we are running the rapids of a river that is the Iraq War.
One of the locals in the movie asks Lewis "What the hell you want to go fucking around with that river for?," and Lewis responds, "Because it's there." The local pauses, then says "It's there all right. You get in and you can't get out, you gonna wish it wasn't."
Dickey asserts that, after 9/11, the destruction of the Taliban government in Afghanistan wasn't a weighty enough challenge for the would-be supermen. Now add in the fact that Lewis is portrayed as a rich boy from Atlanta, whose money came from inherited wealth, who is challenged by survival from near-death experiences. That scenario is little different from a government that is supposed to brake the self-serving when danger and confusion occur. The "core coterie" of ideologues in the Bush administration, none of whom were ever more than weekend warriors, pushed for war at all costs and an end to almost all constraints.
In the end, the survivors slay one of the mountain men and then argue over what to do with the body. When Drew (Ronny Cox) argues that they should tell the police, Lewis denigrates his reference to "the law." Lewis argues for a vote in the name of "democracy," and the terrified companions opt to hide the evidence.
"Democracy" squeals like a piggy, and Ned Beatty is thus characterized in our collective memory, and he becomes Everyman.
Posted by loveysdaddyga at 11:08 AM EDT
Updated: Sunday, October 28, 2007 11:48 AM EDT
There Never Seems To Be EnoughTime To Do The Things That You Want To Do
Mood: rushed
Topic: "Fall Ball" (3)
The hummingbird feeder, for the first time in many days, doesn't need to be refilled. It will be several hours before patches of sunshine will be warm enough for the chair, that sits empty now, to serve as a fitting point of observation for the goings-on in the Gardens of the Shire. Ground and aerial rodents dart back-and-forth as the avian visitors compete for the seeds intended for immediate consumption and/or storage. Although Frodo is want to tarry, Fiona and Mick, the Wonder Dog, race through the dew-laden stems of grass, leaving behind tell-tale pawprints weaving ribbons of passage in the sunlight. There are games afoot, and cooler temperatures demand action both fast and furious.
Although there is less time available for the tasks at hand, there is greater desire to mix need with appreciation. Colors and breezes change around every corner, and Frodo knows that there will be fewer and fewer moments such as these, and how he laments that fact. Mick, the Wonder Dog, meets the eyes of Frodo with the challenge of the playmate, and, perhaps, of one who worships his friend. These are grand moments to be shared, and no one wants to waste a precious second.
"I have only just a minute, only 60 seconds in it,
Forced upon me, can't refuse it.
Didn't seek it, didn't choose it,
But it's up to me to use it.
I must suffer if I lose it,
Give account if I abuse it.
Just a tiny little minute,
But eternity is in it.
What are you going to do with your minute?"
---Dr. Benjamin F. Mays
Updated: Saturday, October 27, 2007 10:55 AM EDT
Even Though We Ain't Got Money, I'm So In Love With Ya Honey
Topic: "George to the Rescue"(3)
Air Force One will take off for the West Coast immediately after George W. Bush finishes his breakfast ("Fruit Loops" and Texas Toast) and morning exercise regimen (one-half hour on a stationary bicycle) (why would you be surprised ?). On the flight to California he will receive the Daily Intelligence Briefing by satellite telephone from the Director of the CIA. The Secretary of State will appear on the closed-circuit television, presumably to exhibit the new shoes she purchased for her upcoming trip to Myanmar. The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Insecurity will then personally brief Mr. Bush and the Chairman of the Republican National Committee on the number of registered Republicans and Independents requiring Federal Disaster Assistance. Mr. Bush will then take a brief nap.
Following is the staff-prepared plan for the whirlwind visit:
There will be no photographs of Mr. Bush looking out of the windows of the airplane at any point.
Prior to landing in Los Angeles, Mr. Bush will meet with the staff from Faux News and Bill Orally. The "team representative" from all other media will receive hand-outs from the cute little honey who replaced Tony Snow. What is her name, anyway?
On the Tarmac Mr. Bush will speak briefly to the people of California before a helicopter flight over the fire damage in wealthy Orange County. After landing and while walking through the rubble of the pool house outside the Malibu residence of Travis Tritt, Mr. Bush will speak briefly to the African-American housecleaner. At this point, staff should ensure that Mr. Bush does not accidentally refer to her as "Mammy."
Governor and Mrs. Schwarzenegger will then escort Mr. Bush in the State Humvee to the Charles Gibson Viewing Stand where Mr. Bush will speak to the California National Guard, the 101st Airborne, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Geraldo Rivera. It should be noted that fires will be visible in the distance. Should they be waning at this point, Secretary of Labor Chao (aka Mrs. Mitch McConnell) will casually pour several quarts of cologne on the flames to increase the effect for the cameras.
Mr. Bush will then take a short helicopter flight around Lake Arrowhead, north of San Diego. News photographers will fly in a separate craft so that pictures can be taken of Mr. Bush tossing fire retardant out of the open door of the helicopter. Note that in order to prevent any potential danger, the retardant will actiually be released over Lake Arrowhead itself.
Mr. Bush will then return to Air Force One. He is scheduled to return to the White House next Monday, after a short vacation at the Ranch in Crawford.
There are times when Frodo seems omniscient.
Updated: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 9:03 PM EDT
People Say I'm Lazy Dreaming My Life Away
Topic: "Jefferson Rock" (3)
In June of 1861, one of Frodo's Great-Grandfathers traveled to what was then Harper's Ferry, Virginia, in order to enlist in General Lee's Army. Frodo has never assessed that act, or any of those subsequent, as treasonous; merely as best judgment at the time. Frodo is keenly aware that many others, even today, disagree with him. Feeling no pain, he merely swipes his head with regret for the deficiency in understanding.
Frodo's Great-Grandfather could not, in Frodo's opinion, have failed to step up upon "Jefferson Rock" and partake of the vista that spread itself for him on that day in that place. Thomas Jefferson, standing on that very spot, had proclaimed this to be the grandest of all the scapes of this new land. Despite his efforts against the nation divided, many of Frodo's Great-Grandfathers' progeny who might also possibly stand in that spot would, in behalf of that divided nation, someday sacrifice the ability to return. Today, the eyes belonged to Frodo, feeling however, that his sight was shared
The dull magentas, browns, and yellows of the hardwoods, are a coverlet to the mountains, cliffs, and bridges above the shallow Shenandoah. The life blood, which riffles on a timeless and patient flow to a faraway sea, moves at it has for years far more numerous than the multiples of a hundred known to those who have stood upon Jefferson Rock. It looks much today as it must have looked when the boot of Mr. Jefferson formed the print that today contains all of the Hobbits' foot. There is a sense of awe for him, and for Frodo's Great-Grandfather, and for each since who stood here and made a silent promise to return when peace was restored. Places such as this generate such dreams, those that live beyond that which is given to a single mortal, to be shared by all who follow.
A gentle, life-giving, mist was falling when Frodo finally turned away. Perhaps there was a message there. Perhaps not. Likely it is that another must come.
Updated: Monday, October 22, 2007 10:35 PM EDT
Find Me a Rock And Roll Band That Needs a Helping Hand
Topic: "Seen Any Blue Swans?"(3)
Willem de Vlamingh (by the way, did Frodo mention that you should now be taking notes for the test at the end of this lesson?) arrived in Australia from Holland in 1697, and promptly confronted something that the entire civilized world believed did not exist; he encountered black swans. His discovery forced Europeans to accept the fact that an obvious and accepted belief, i.e. that all swans are white, might actually prove to be incorrect. This realization probably did not sit well with several established religious groups at the time.
Frodo brings this up because of a new book, appropriately named "The Black Swan," and subtitled "The Impact of the Highly Improbable," written by Dr. Nassim Nicholas Taleb. Dr. Taleb's theorem is that unlikely events seem impossible when they lie in the unknown or in the future, however, after they occur, they become a part of our readily accepted reality. Taleb argues that our lives are the cumulative effect of a number of significant shocks that have taken place in our environment that were far different from what was planned or expected. He uses the theory to argue that America's place in the global economy is strengthened by the fact that we have not learned to fear failure. Rather, as entrepreneurs our collective successes have more to do with what is unplanned as opposed to what is predictable.
Frodo was struck by one of Taleb's examples, which he dubbed the "Harry Potter Phenomenon." He merely pointed out that the authoress was, when she wrote her first book, a mother on welfare. The unpredictable success of her product obviously changed her life, and was, therefore, a "Black Swan." Other examples used by Dr. Taleb were the internal combustion engine; the Cuban Revolution; the personal computer; the 1990's Internet stock bubble; and World War II. Each of these events became a "Black Swan" because of the unintended consequences which followed.
Frodo would like to introduce another "Black Swan." George W. Bush may be the penultimate unintended consequence in the modern world. For some, his very existence is evidence of a night of passion gone awry. Others look upon him as a mannequin, dressed and posing, mindlessly, without an unscripted moment and, therefore, a figurehead. Still others, it seems, regard him as a bulwark against uncontrolled and uncontrollable government. Frodo argues that all have been confounded by what has actually taken place. Frodo also hopes that the entrepreneurial spirit of the American people has not been diminished by the most colossal of all our failures.
Frodo will be doing his best Charles Kuralt impersonation for the next several days dear reader. If the opportunity avails itself, and you happen across a weary traveler sipping an RC and eating a "Moon Pie" in front of an old country store, stop and sit a spell, you might meet Frodo up close and personal. Talk about a "black Swan," you stop to fill the tank and you come face-to-face with a Hobbit.
"Now, take out a piece of paper and number from one to ten. . ."
I Wish It Would Rain
Topic: "DroughtExitStragedy"(3)
Political discussions in the Shire today are all about the weather. The "Bermuda High" which traditionally sits atop the Southeastern USA at this time of year, spiraling clockwise, pushes precipitous possibilities into the periphery, i.e. Texas (which certainly meets almost any definition of periphery). The result being that much of the area abounding the Gardens of the Shire is as much as a foot-and-a-half behind the normal annual rainfall for this point in the year, and all of this carries over from similar readings in the prior year. The only remotely amusing aspect is the fallout from political leaders recognizing that voters care more about rain than they do plebiscites and millage rates.
Atlanta is very visible in the cross-hairs. As the State of Georgia considers restrictions on commercial and industrial users, beyond the total ban on outdoor watering for residential use, water experts around the nation are shocked by the dire consequences which restrictions place on Metro Atlanta. Mr. Don Wilhite, who founded the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is quoted as saying "Most large metropolitan areas have systems in place where they try to be better managers of the resource than (Georgia). . ."
Zing. And those are pretty strong words emanating from a University with a losing football team.
Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue (who bears an uncanny likeness to "Curly" of the "Three Stooges") has his political shoes on, and is dancing his best to convince voters that this is neither his fault, nor his responsibility. Sonny, it seems, is being mentioned by many of the Midgets contending for the Republican Party Presidential nod as a potential Veep nominee. The back door to the Governor's Mansion on West Paces Ferry road is aswing with advisors at all levels; all in the effort to keep Sonny on the short list.
Frodo's grim countenance on this bleak day was brightened by the appearance of a familiar face exiting from the Governor's Mansion.
Donald Rumsfeld. Now that's the kind of advice Sonny really needs. Frodo wonders where Ambassador Bremer is? Frodo would pay his expenses.
You Can See The Stars And Still Not See The Light
Topic: "Red Sky at Morning" (3)
Frodo and Sam deviate from their quest up Mount Doom to actually visit Sauron's seat of power. On Saturday next they will watch two young people unite for their common future; it has been a long time since the Hobbits have been to a Wedding. At this point in time, funerals are much more common. Frodo hoped also to make time for a short visit to Bilbo's last remaining brother while in the vicinity. However, recent events in that part of Middle Earth holds the promise of a pinkish tint when the morrow comes.
Legolas received word that his "stress test" required additional attention. He will have bypass surgery when the sun rises.
Gimli, after discussions with multiple specialists, has been found to have committed such a crime against one, James Parkinson, that he has been infected with a "Disease" named after the offended party.
Bilbo's brother, wounded in the first two hours of fighting on the beach at Okinawa when he was but an 18 year-old Marine, underwent triple bypass surgery and rests in a Coronary Care Unit as Frodo pens these lines.
Bilbo has had treatments to deaden the nerve endings in the back, so that sleep can return to the cycle of days and nights again.
There is, to life, an unpredictable aspect which assures only that, after good times, bad will follow. It is not as if Frodo has been unaware that a "bad moon" may be on the rise. Frodo does not have either the time or the inclination to lament the challenges placed before him; he knows that much depends on him and it is what he expected when he took up the task to destroy the Ring.
Little Georgia, the inhabitant of the Shire to whom every day has been Christmas, will suffer no more beyond the morrow. The task of "dominion" is both judgmental and compassionate. Frodo and Sam will long remember the courage of a chihuahua mix, blind in one eye, partially deaf, with heartworms, who added her bark to the pack. She will have an honored spot in the Gardens of the Shire. She deserves no less.
It will be nice when Frodo can stop fouling off curve balls, and return a fast ball past the ear of Fate directly over the center-field wall.
Updated: Sunday, October 14, 2007 8:00 PM EDT
To The Gypsy That I Was
Mood: spacey
Topic: "Japanese Movie?" (3)
The Men of Gondor gathered again to share chicken cooked in a clay oven and the breadlike creation which provides basic sustenance for over a tenth of all the population of Middle Earth. The chicken wasn't much to rave about thought Frodo, but this Nanna stuff is pretty good. A little apple butter and he would have a whole new appreciation for that part of the world that seems to answer all his telephone calls anymore. From there it was but a short jaunt to little Oglethorpe where, Frodo joked, he could enjoy an afternoon with "Mothra" and "Godzilla." Frodo feigned shock to find out that "Rodan" was actually some short, little Belgian guy who made statues out of hands and heads.
In truth, Rodin was a musician for his age. In times such as these, where art is music and music is art, the work of Rodin represents the art that is no longer present in the Hobbit culture. Although there are many who sculpt and paint, the only terminology for this age is "Rock and Roll." It is, to Frodo, a matter of focus. Witness the words of a prophet which, if you will, are written on a subway wall.
George Carlin has said that Americans prefer to focus on the sideshows and to ignore the big picture. "People have lost interest in governing themselves," he observed, "for the sake of gizmos and toys. They sold out for Jet Skis and cellphones and Salad Shooters and leaf blowers. It is just a shame, for it will be the ruin of this country. It is fun to watch however."
Anna Nicole Smith is back in the news. That, Frodo supposes, is the point made by Prophet Carlin. That, and that none of Mitt Romney's five sons have yet signed up for a tour in the US Military. And the beat goes on, probably with an air guitar accompaniment.
What a Day For a Daydream
Topic: "Overdue Books" (3)
In the spirit of non-partisan good government, Frodo has written a letter to the General Services Administration suggesting that the George W. Bush Presidential Library be located within the confines of the United States Embassy in Baghdad. Most people know that this edifice, when completed, will be the largest, most expensive, such building in all the world. Would it not be fitting, Frodo argued, that the location of the war of longest duration, and least consequence, in American History should contain a memorial to poor research and historical ignorance? The possibilities for documenting the folly of war merit serious consideration of Frodo's proposal.
The Richard Cheney Memorial Storm Cellar would make future generations forever immune to references of "Dugout Doug" MacArthur of World War II genre. Cheney was assigned to underground duty while the Incomparable Moron flitted from elementary schools to Shreveport on September 11th. Afterwards, Cheney was rarely observed doing anything in, or for, the public.
The Larry Craig Restroom Stalls would have doors that swing both ways. This action would serve as an ever-mindful warning for clandestine raconteurs that it takes more than a wide stance to repel an insurgency.
The Alberto Gonzales Telecommunications Center would symbolize the totality of information gathered in the national defense during times of crisis. By simply pushing a button, any national defense operative could obtain access to any portion of the former Attorney General's testimony before the Congress of the United States, translated into any one of more than 235 languages, and 114 dialects thereof. "I don't recall" is particularly appealing in Hawaiian, at least it is to Frodo.
Then, of course the mind boggles at all the other reminders of this grandifluorous time in world history, there are the books and records themselves, all gathered and maintained in mint condition. Every document that was published for any purpose whatsoever during the simply unforgettable Bush White House years. Yes, dear reader, the absolutely pristine, untouched by human hand, information which could have guided our national goals to new heights is now available to you for only $19.95 plus shipping & handling. If you choose to visit the library itself, you will be able to research any of the non-classified items in the area known as Barney's Reading Room.
Be sure to look for the autographed copy of "My Pet Goat." You're paying for it you know, big time.


A husband-and-wife team and their influential midcentury designs.
From Dorothy and Otis: Designing the American Dream.
Lucky is the designer who can see in both two and three dimensions. Luckier still is she or he to be married to someone with equal gifts—especially if that mate is a collaborator and not a competitor. So appears to have been the case with Dorothy and Otis Shepard, whose enviable creative lives have been captured in the absorbing, moving, and lushly illustrated new book Dorothy and Otis: Designing the American Dream, by Norman Hathaway and Dan Nadel.
And so their joint artistic adventure began—most markedly with a honeymoon in 1929 to Paris, Venice, Zurich, and Vienna. While there, they purchased Bauhaus furniture and had the good fortune to meet the great modernist Joseph Binder, who was a leader in the European abstract graphic style. "Shep and Dorothy already wanted their work to convey meaning through compositional structure—instead of realism," write Hathaway and Nadel, but Binder's reduction of "an image to a series of shapes and forms and [integration of] typography into his pictures" helped refine their approach to design and illustration. Both Dorothy and Otis had been following the modernist movement with great interest back home, but seeing this work and the new techniques in person and to scale had a profound and lasting effect on them.
It was Shep's thirty-year working relationship with the chewing-gum giant Wrigley that brought unimaginable opportunities for both him and Dorothy. P.K. Wrigley and Shep had a lifelong friendship that, while sometimes contentious, seems to have been full of good faith. Wrigley not only had Shep art direct all areas of his chewing-gum empire, he also entrusted him to reimagine Catalina Island, which his father had purchased years earlier, as a tourist destination. Shep gave up all other freelance work to focus on the Wrigley account, which took him to Chicago for half the year. Dorothy assisted him as a ghost designer on some of these well-known projects and continued to take on clients of her own back in New York, where the newlyweds had relocated after the Chesterfield company paid for them to live and work for six weeks while creating an original campaign for their cigarette brand. Shep's highly memorable graphic packaging for the ubiquitous, all-American chewing gum and the all-so-familiar advertising for the brand (think the Doublemint Twins!) is so a part of the fabric of our everyday design culture that it embarrassed me not to know Shep's name, let alone that of his unsung wife and frequent collaborator.
With Catalina, the Shepards enjoyed four years of unparalleled creative freedom to invent a vacation paradise, one that, according to Shep's vision, would be as charming and romantic and as much of a draw as any of the well-loved European vacation destinations of the day. (And it was: among the island's visitors were Betty Grable, Joan Crawford, Johnny Weissmuller, and Cecil B. DeMille.) Shep developed the Early California Plan, which provided guidelines for local shop owners about how they could improve their business through a smart, consistent, island-wide design vision. Dorothy was fastidious in her research of the Mexican and Native American influences on the island, and this inspired her choices of color, typography, architectural detail, and even the uniforms for all of Catalina's tradespeople. She created a system of dimensional signage that was consistent in its use of typography and illustration style. All of these efforts by the visionary couple had a subliminal unifying effect that contributed to its financial success.
In 1936 and '37, Shep oversaw the complete image overhaul of P.K.'s beloved Chicago Cubs and of Wrigley Field itself. He redesigned the field's signage and scoreboards, tickets, concession stands, and bleachers, and his new players' uniforms set the standard for the shape and tailoring of all modern baseball teams. The book includes page after page of Shep's richly colored and dynamic midcentury Cubs programs and yearbook covers, created with his signature airbrush technique. He's responsible, too, for the print materials for the All-American Girls Softball League—P.K.'s idea to fill stadiums during World War II.
Shep and Dorothy grew apart in the forties, partly from the strain of their elder son's metal illness. Dorothy chose to relocate with her younger son to Northern California, where, unfortunately for us, she put commercial work aside forever. Instead, she focused on fine art and taking care of her family. In her late personal work, Dorothy explored abstraction with hard-edged paintings and collage using limited color palettes on white grounds that are reminiscent for me of those of Kazimir Malevich. The Suprematist artists liked to create gradients with their paintbrushes, and perhaps that drew her to their work.
In 1962, the two great designers—Dorothy was fifty-six, and Otis was sixty-eight—reunited, set up house together, and traveled once more to New York City. I was so moved by Hathaway and Nadel's choice to close Dorothy and Otis's story with a spread showing two blue-tinted, large format, Polaroid-type candid photographs—one of Dorothy shot by Shep, the other of Shep shot by Dorothy. They are approaching the harbor by boat, each foregrounding a midcentury Manhattan skyline. Their poses in relation to the rail of the boat and to the city seem to suggest that each found separate paths in both life and in work and honored the other for it.
Charlotte Strick is art director of The Paris Review.


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