The factory automation maker withdrew its $29 billion offer for Rockwell Automation after being rejected twice. Fred Katayama reports.
Emerson Electric throws up its hands. It's withdrawing its $29 billion bid for Rockwell Automation. This comes after Emerson got rejected twice despite upping its ante. The factory automation maker said it's taking back its offer over what it called Rockwell's "unwillingness to engage in discussions." Rockwell's shares fell at the market open Tuesday while Emerson's rose. RBC Capital Markets analyst Deane Dray said, "There is still a chance that this M&A story could get resurrected at some point, but the fortune of the two companies would have to materially change from the current valuation and outlook." Rockwell's board said the deal wasn't in the best interests of the company and its shareholders. Emerson said it will accelerate repurchases of its stock over the next month and buy back up to $1 billion over the next 12 months.


When the time comes for strategic planning, it can be hard to know which framework to choose for your organization. Since popularized in the late 1950s, hundreds of strategic frameworks have been developed and used by organizations of all types, sizes and stages in their business life cycle – most promising to be a silver bullet to strategic success.
We've done the research to highlight some of the most popular strategic frameworks over the past 60 years to help inform your decision of which framework best fits your organization.
OGSM (short for Objectives, Goals, Strategies, Measures) is widely believed to have been brought to America from Japan in the 1950s with roots in Total Quality, but the precise origin of the framework is unknown. It is believed to have been developed post-World War II during the Occupation of Japan. Procter & Gamble is credited with the development of the modern version of the OGSM framework, which translates strategic goals and ideas into organizational practice. Since implemented by P&G, OGSM has been used by Fortune 500 companies around the globe.
OGSM provides a concise format (one page) and clear framework for developing, aligning and deploying a long-term (3-5 year) strategic plan. The OGSM framework is designed to connect big picture strategic elements (mission, vision, values) to operational elements (goals, strategies, initiatives, measures). The result is a comprehensive, robust and executable strategic plan.
Objective – direction setting statement. Answers the question: Where are we going?
Goals – financial and operational performance goals. Answers the question: What must we accomplish financially?
Strategies – choices made to achieve our objectives and goals. Answers the question: How will we prioritize our choices?
Measures – quantitative figures used to track progress on each strategy. Answers the question: How do we measure success?
Best for organizations with no formal strategic framework, those who have experienced rapid growth (or rapid decline), entities who have currently undergone mergers/acquisitions or any organization who continually struggles to reach its financial targets. At ArchPoint Consulting, we regularly recommend the OGSM framework for our clients because of its power to transform the way organizations think about and execute strategy. Read our OGSM Whitepaper for more information on implementing the OGSM framework in your organization.
Perhaps not ironically, he's also credited with famous phrase "paralysis by analysis," words of caution to heed when embarking in a planning exercise.
Market penetration – Increased sales of existing products in existing markets through changes in price, promotion and distribution.
Product development – Sales of new products in existing markets through new product development or existing product modification.
Market development – Sales of existing products in new markets through changes in price, packaging, distribution and geographic expansion business locations.
Diversification – Sales of new products in new markets through related diversification (diversification within the same industry) or unrelated diversification (diversification in a completely new industry).
Best used in conjunction with a more robust strategic planning framework, due to the lack of consideration of external/internal factors that need to exist/change to deliver growth. Communicating the actionability of activities to follow the chosen strategy can also be a challenge. At ArchPoint Consulting, we frequently refer to the Ansoff Matrix to inform OGSM development and distributor/customer segmentation exercises for product-based companies.
Like OGSM, Hoshin Kanri can be traced to post-World War II Japanese reconstruction efforts. The name stems from the Japanese "Ho" meaning direction, "Shin" meaning needle and "Hoshin" meaning compass; "Kan" meaning control or channeling and "Ri" meaning reason or logic" – the combined meaning of the words is interpreted as direction setting management. In 1976, Hewlett-Packard's Japanese subsidiary was the first known organization to utilize Hoshin, a planning and implementation process which gives direction to an organization. They looked at future strategy through a system of forms and rules designed to encourage employees to take appropriate action when situations arise.
During the Implementation and Progress Reviews steps, Hoshin includes an organic, continuous improvement cycle known as the PDCA (Plan, representing plan development – Do, representing implementation and daily management – Check, meaning review and self-assessment – Act, meaning adjusting strategic priorities) Cycle.
Another key part of Hoshin is known as "catch ball," which happens during the Deployment step. Departmental stakeholders "catch" a topic for improvement and through various methods determine an ideal future state, which is then "thrown" back to upper management to review the plan. It's a top-down/bottom-up approach.
Best for organizations with strong departmental and individual contributor capabilities needing to repair process issues or better meet departmental goals, organizations with poor alignment between upper managerial vision and day-to-day operational activities and organizations with disengaged employees. From our experience at ArchPoint Consulting, we believe while aspects of Hoshin can be implemented to better engage employees in strategic planning efforts as a whole, a clearer path to strategic execution through centralized, aligned leadership is required for efficient execution.
The 7S Framework was the brainchild of McKinsey business consultants Robert H. Waterman, Jr. and Tom Peters in the 1980s. This model was born out of a McKinsey research project whose development had some unusual perks and pitfalls – infinite budget, first-class travel, meetings with some of the most interesting people of the time, a seemingly traitorous article published by Peters against the idea of strategy (then McKinsey's main service offering), the prompt firing of Peters after the article was published and the receipt of zero royalties by Waterman from the framework, which heavily contributed to the mega-popular book In Search of Excellence.
The premise of the McKinsey 7S Framework is that there are seven internal organizational elements that must be in alignment for success. These elements are divided into "hard elements," being those that are easy to identify and influence and "soft elements," those that are more difficult to define and impact. The design of the model is intended to help organizations identify which elements need to change to reach/maintain alignment or achieve a different level of performance.
Best for organizations wanting to take a current state assessment to compare against desired state, those going through organizational change or aligning to a chosen strategy and organizations wanting to model the effects of future organizational changes. From our experience at ArchPoint Consulting, the 7S Framework is helpful for understanding the organizational implications and resource requirements necessary to deliver a strategic plan, but that it falls short on helping organizations execute and communicate.
In 1990, Robert S. Kaplan of the Harvard Business School led a research study with the US-based consultancy firm, Nolan-Norton. Along with David P. Norton, he subsequently published The Balanced Scorecard: Measures that Drive Performance in 1992. This article included details of a Balanced Scorecard design developed by an independent consultant, Art Schneiderman, for a mid-sized semi-conductor company in 1987. Kaplan and Norton are typically revered as the creators of the Balanced Scorecard, but it is Schneiderman who developed the actual concept. The article was so popular, they published The Balanced Scorecard in 1996, a book credited with the spread of the concept worldwide along with additional articles published by Kaplan and Norton.
In the mid-1990s, an improved, second-generation model emerged introducing the utilization of "strategy maps" – illustrations of strategic objectives distributed among the four perspectives. After the mapping exercise, the Balanced Scorecard framework is developed by choosing only one or two measures for each strategic objective, which simplifies the approach.
Another iteration was developed later in the 1990s with the introduction of "destination statements" and added functionality to strategic objectives. Designs of the framework continue to evolve to resolve deficiencies with the original designs and fit the criteria of changing business models.
Best for organizations that have not had success juggling multiple metrics or any organization who continually struggles to reach its goals. From our experience at ArchPoint Consulting, Balanced Scorecard is most successful when used by organizations with experience in disciplined strategic planning and with at least some key team members having experience using the methodology.
The Blue Ocean theory was developed by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborne after conducting a research study spanning 100 years, 30 industries and 150 strategic moves. Kim and Mauborne published Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant in 2004 and an extended version of the book in 2015, making the case that instead of fighting for market space in "red oceans" (waters turned red with blood spilled from vicious competition), companies can succeed by creating "blue oceans" which are new market spaces devoid from competition.
Blue Ocean provides insight into many strategic frameworks that help create value innovation, one being "strategy canvas," a tool that helps companies differentiate their product from others.
The next phase of Blue Ocean focuses on formulating a strategy based on four principles (reconstructing market boundaries, big picture focus, reaching beyond existing supply and demand, and strategic sequence) while managing across boundaries of competition. Finally, Blue Ocean suggests implementation through tipping point leadership and fair process, while being mindful of organization hurdles that exist politically, cognitively, resource-wise and motivationally that can prevent the strategy from succeeding.
Best for innovative organizations, organizations operating in markets with extreme saturation and those looking for a major strategic shift. From our experience at ArchPoint Consulting, elements of Blue Ocean can be used as pre-emptive, thought provoking strategic brainstorming exercises on potential market opportunities, but lacks tangible work plans on how to execute.
– Model is complex and requires a long time horizon to implement – think changing existing processes, developing new products, etc.
Choosing a strategy framework is an important task, but its importance does not compare to the work involved in strategy execution, one of the biggest challenges we see with our clients. Heeding the advice below can help you maximize your efforts.
Do not begin the planning process without a very good understanding of the organization's current performance, availability and capability of resources and growth potential. Foregoing this critical step can make all strategic planning efforts for naught. Read how we conduct organizational performance assessments.
Many organizations go through the planning process with excitement and vigor and lose energy as soon as the plan is developed. As a leader, you must recognize the need for change management discipline and implement it. The organization cannot be expected to change the way it has always operated without regular reminders and communication from leadership.
Strategic planning is not project management.
Leaders are often surprised when little progress is made months after a strategic planning session. Thankfully, there are many tools that exist adjacent to OGSM and other frameworks that can be easily implemented. myOGSM is one of the tools we recommend.
At ArchPoint Consulting, we know a plan that stays on paper is a failed plan. We're passionate about strategy and its execution to fundamentally change how a business operates. Our team is here to help you get back on track whether it's starting from scratch or implementing tools to successfully deliver on your priorities. Contact us today.


Join us for our last event of the year on Friday 8 December from 7.30pm to celebrate our year of achievement and activism in the Lewisham branch.
Come and raise a glass with us to past and future successes!
All welcome. Whether it's your first or fiftieth branch event, WE'd love to see you!


One of my friends told me that the best part about learning Spanish is dropping in some howlers when you feel the conversation is getting away from you. There are so many common mistakes for newcomers to choose from. Here are a few of them: 1. ¿Puedo abrir la ventana? Es que soy súper caliente….


text:
Category Archives: Monsters
Language, Life, Monsters
Are There Two Kinds of People in the World?
Who are we to call him Monster?
It was bad enough to wonder whether I was a man or a Muppet. Now I spent all weekend worried that I was also the wrong kind of Muppet.
I blame Dahlia Lithwick, who wrote that there are two types of Muppets, "chaos Muppets" and "order Muppets," and that, by extension, "every living human can be classified according to one simple metric: Every one of us is either a Chaos Muppet or an Order Muppet."
Lithwick elaborates:
Chaos Muppets are out-of-control, emotional, volatile. They tend toward the blue and fuzzy. They make their way through life in a swirling maelstrom of food crumbs, small flaming objects, and the letter C. Cookie Monster, Ernie, Grover, Gonzo, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and—paradigmatically—Animal, are all Chaos Muppets. Zelda Fitzgerald was a Chaos Muppet. So, I must tell you, is Justice Stephen Breyer.
Order Muppets—and I'm thinking about Bert, Scooter, Sam the Eagle, Kermit the Frog, and the blue guy who is perennially harassed by Grover at restaurants (the Order Muppet Everyman)—tend to be neurotic, highly regimented, averse to surprises and may sport monstrously large eyebrows. They sometimes resent the responsibility of the world weighing on their felt shoulders, but they secretly revel in the knowledge that they keep the show running. Your first grade teacher was probably an Order Muppet. So is Chief Justice John Roberts. […] It's simply the case that the key to a happy marriage, a well-functioning family, and a productive place of work lies in carefully calibrating the ratio of Chaos Muppets to Order Muppets within any closed system.
Two things become pretty clear: 1) despite her ironic implications ("This is really just me having fun," she protests a little too strongly; filing under "Dubious and Far-fetched ideas"), Lithwick takes her binary system pretty seriously; and 2) despite that "It's not that any one type of Muppet is inherently better than the other," she clearly prefers chaos Muppets. So do I. And, I'll add, so does everyone. Chaos Muppets have all the fun, and order Muppets are the straight men, the ones who get flabbergasted and frustrated and freak out while muted trumpets go "Wha wha whaaa" at their expense.
Which is why I found it so disturbing to realize, as I was obsessively vacuuming the living room, that I was clearly an order Muppet. Even worse was the realization that my wife is also an order Muppet, even as Lithwick takes pains suggest that her classification system is crucial for life partners: "Order Muppets tend to pick Chaos Muppets for their life partners, cookies notwithstanding. Thus, if you're in a long-term relationship with a Chaos Muppet, there's a pretty good chance you're Bert. If you're married to an Order Muppet, you may well be the Swedish Chef. And by all that is holy, don't marry your same type if you can help it. That's where Baby Elmos come from." No word on what becomes of the children of two order Muppets.
I didn't feel this way after reading Heather Havrilesky's "Steve Jobs: Vampire. Bill Gates: Zombie" in the New York Times Magazine last October, which suggested that "Vampires and zombies seem to reside at the polarities of our culture, telling us (almost) everything we need to know about (almost) everything in between." It was clear to me that I was a vampire, and that the piece, like Lithwick's, wanted us to feel as though the writer is disinterested in the distinction when really vampires come off far cooler.
As Havrilesky puts it,
Vampires are solitary and antisocial and sleep in the ground. Zombies are extroverts, hanging out in big, rowdy clusters, moaning and shrieking, and apparently never sleeping at all.
Why do these sound like people I know? Maybe because these two approaches to being undead mirror two very different approaches to being alive. You're either a vampire or a zombie, and it's easy to tell which one.
The vampires are the narcissists, the artists, the experts, the loners: moody bartenders, surgeons, songwriters, lonely sculptors, entrepreneurial workaholics, neurotic novelists, aspiring filmmakers, stock traders, philosophy professors. The zombies are the collaborators, the leaders, the fanatics and obsessives: I.T. guys, policy wonks, comic-book collectors, historians, committee heads, lawyers, teachers, politicians, Frisbee-golf enthusiasts.
"Sexy!"–New York Times
This is all meant to be fun and funny. But we really are required to place ourselves in mutually exclusive binary categories all the time. There's Male/Female, of course, and even if biology or culture weren't forcing our hand, our English pronouns leave us no gray area. ("Ze" is not a viable option yet.) There is the dichotomy that still allows for, insists on, legal segregation: smoker and nonsmoker. There is the dichotomy that no one thinks about but may be the most intrinsically important one of all: to borrow from Sharon Olds's book of poems, The Dead and the Living. There was the ancient Greek distinction, between themselves (Greeks) and barbarians (everyone except Greeks). That dichotomy was originally related to language, but like chaos Muppets/order Muppets and vampires/zombies, you know which side you'd rather be on.
In The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, Blondie (Clint Eastwood) says, "There are two kinds of people in the world: those with loaded guns, and those who dig."
Tuco, though, has his own ideas: "There are two kinds of people in the world, my friend: Those with a rope around the neck, and the people who have the job of doing the cutting." They're the same two groups for both men, but sometimes the ones who carry loaded guns wind up with ropes around their necks as well. You have to wonder, though, about a movie whose recurring motif is "two kinds of people" when its title clearly suggests that there are three.
Yet in many ways, these writers aren't so different from the psychologists who want to squeeze all of humanity into two boxes, despite that context and mood probably influence our actions more than a temperament derived from multiple choice testing: extraversion or introversion; sensing or intuition; thinking or feeling, judgment or perception. Nietzsche knew better. He didn't think in terms of two types of people, but rather two human impulses, as anthropomorphized by the Greek gods Apollo and Dionysius. Clearly, Apollo is an order Muppet and a Vampire, while Dionysius is a chaos Muppet and a Zombie. But as humans, we are both and neither, instead the product of constantly conflicting beliefs, moods, attachments, and desires. Putting people into simplistic categories has the potential to explain as well as dangerously simplify the world. As writer Tom Robbins put it, "There are two kinds of people in this world: Those who believe there are two kinds of people in this world and those who are smart enough to know better."
So now I know better.
Time: one hour.
Tagged categories, chaos Muppet, Dahlia Lithwick, dichotomies, entertainment, Language, Life, Media, Muppets, order Muppet, Philosophy, Slate, society
Holidays, Metaphors, Monsters
A (Belated) Merry Krampus
Not Santa
Outside my bedroom window, flickering like a cheap motel sign, sits my neighbor's neon Santa, silently signing "Ho," "Ho Ho," "Ho Ho Ho," each flash adding another "Ho" like it's a new idea or something. The image of Santa—Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, Father Christmas—reigns supreme from November to January, or, in Winona, MN, from late August to January.
But what about Krampus? Apparently, Krampus—who, like Santa, goes by many names—was once, more benignly, Santa's sidekick, "a devil-like figure who drove away evil spirits during the Christian holiday season." But more often, he was Santa's bad cop. Santa rewarded the good children with presents, while Krampus whipped and punished the bad ones—or, in a calculated bit of symmetry, Santa carried presents in his sack, while Krampus carried an empty sack, not to steal presents a la The Grinch but rather to carry off bad children for his supper.
I never heard of Krampus until two days ago. And I don't celebrate Christmas, so I don't have a horse in this race anyway. But I've been thinking about Krampus. (I also had a dream about him, but my stomach hurt when I went to bed, so I suspect it was my unconscious telegraphing the word "cramps.") I'm concerned about what seems to be the disappearance of Krampus. Santa has come to dominate the season with a red, velvet fist, the sole survivor of a symbolic vanishing twin syndrome. But Santa's ascendancy seems directly tied to the overall criticisms of saccharine sanctimony and crass commercialism endemic to the season.
Now, I'm not advocating an American Krampus renaissance, or a full on Krampus parade as in Graz, Austria, below (warning: scary!)
Too many of the images are startling or sadistic, a few border on pedophilia, and a handful are all three:
Wrong for so many reasons
Clearly, adults should not terrorize their children into petrified obedience. When I posted a Krampus link on Facebook yesterday, two friends, Abbie and Johannes —not surprisingly, of Eastern European and Austrian origin, respectively—had indeed heard of Krampus, and they felt their childhood shivers return at the sight of him. But the appropriate comparison for me is to Andrew Delbanco's book and idea of "the Death of Satan": not the need to sow fear, as much as the metaphorical need to embody, rather than rationalize or ironize, the very idea of evil. Delbanco worries that the death of Satan—or, I'll add, his Christmas collector's edition, Krampus—is a kind of death of metaphor itself, and that convincing the world that he is gone—whether through secular humanism's intellectual embarrassment or Christian fundamentalism's demonizing of others rather than looking inward to find evil—would indeed be Satan's greatest trick of all. Ridding the world of Krampus does not purge the world of what he represents. As that other great Pagan-derived holiday, Halloween, shows, great good can come from receiving, and even identifying with, the bad.
But mostly, I fear that without Krampus, the yang to his yin, the bitter to his sweet, Santa Claus has had to be both the good cop and the bad cop in one:
"He knows when you are sleeping,
He knows when you're awake
He knows if you've been bad or good…"
Does any verse strike more fear in the hearts of American children? Do we want Santa to embody Foucault's Panopticon, the totalitarian, police state? When one figure embodies both reward and punishment, carrots and sticks, it does not just effect the death of Satan. It also produces a kind of death of Santa, just a little. Ho ho ho.
Time: a cool 35 minutes. Call me Half-hour Man today.
Tagged Christmas, Holidays, Krampus, Santa Claus, Satan
Books, Monsters, Movies, Video games
Our Zombies, Ourselves
This is me on zombie
"Peak oil": the point at which the world's oil supplies go into irreversible decline (from Financial Times Lexicon )
I'm not expert enough to decide if peak oil is simply a depressing fact or a myth needing to be debunked. But I will say this: we may have reached the point of Peak Zombie.
"The Walking Dead" on TV; Zone One by Colson Whitehead and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies in books; The New York Times dividing the world into figurative zombies and vampires, as though Myers-Briggs can now add a Z/V to its inventory of personality dichotomies.
At the movies, beyond the Final Destinations and the 28 Days and the multiple reanimated George Romeros, even a movie like Contagion is a quasi-zombie movie sans actual zombies, Pirates of the Caribbean a de facto zombie movie even if the thing you remember is Johnny Depp's larf an' teef. You'll be relieved to know that there is a Zombie Movie Database, so you can look up, say, Klown Kamp Massacre, to say nothing of the thousands of other zombie websites, including this one, that I used to zombify myself (apparently it's a transitive verb) for the swell pic above.
Exhilarating, yes, but there's a dark side: we're in desperate danger, not from zombies, or in running from zombies, but from running out of zombies. Too many years of drilling already-limited and well-mined material must lead to irreversible decline.
So why zombies, and why now? There's not a single answer. In fact, I believe that zombies have overrun the cultural landscape because all of the explanations have infected and colluded with each other, creating the conditions for the perfect storm of zombies.
Consumerism: This was Romero's earliest hobbyhorse, with his mall zombies interchangeable with its usual clientele, later perfectly depicted in Shawn's, of Shawn of the Dead, inability to tell the difference between the zombies and his usual neighbors ("She's so drunk!"). Zombies are like holiday shoppers: thoughtless, impulsive, unselfconscious malcontents driven by the basest instinct to do nothing but seek the next object of consumption. It's hard to question one's own consumption, but easy to pick on zombie's fixes. Certainly Zombieland presents the post-apocalyptic world as one in which the survivors can raid any car or house—or just trash a souvenir shop—because, well, there's no on left, so why not?
Globalization's literal and metaphorical infectiousness: Look at the recurring zombie motifs: pandemics, undocumented movements of people across quarantines and borders, the possibility of infiltration by the dangerously infected or affected: zombies are a perfect proxy for the fear of insecure boundaries of every kind. (I wrote about this in much greater detail here.) Compare zombies to Frankenstein's monster. As a reanimated corpse, F's M was a proto-zombie, but badder: seven feet tall, intelligent, super strong, super agile, impervious to bullets, frost, and fire. (Go read your Shelley and stop Whale watching if you don't know what I'm talking about.) But F's M wasn't CONTAGIOUS! His whole hangup was that he was the only one of his kind. Zombies don't have that hangup. They don't have any hangups.
Technology: Back in the day, zombies were created by magic. But for a few decades they've been formed by radioactivity and viruses, especially scientifically engineered viruses and bio-weapons. And the solutions tend to be old school and low tech: baseball bats, bludgeons, and medieval style-weaponry. Many movies—and World War Z and Zombie Survival Guide—specifically suggest that hand to head weapons are more effective than guns and projectiles. How many times have you tried to solve your tech problem by whacking something—and it worked?
Apocalypse: 2000, 2001, 2012: the end has been near for some time now. And who better to bring about the end than zombies? But each version in its own way allows us to rehearse the end one more time, so if or when it ever arrives, we're better prepared. Scared of the end of the world? Anyone who doesn't know how to respond to the apocalypse has no one but himself to blame at this point. You've had practice. You've been warned.
Political and racial polarization: People who don't think and just merge with the hordes are considered zombies. Unfortunately, it's only people who are opposite one's own political preference that confers the brainless, conformist zombie label. For conservatives, it's Obama Zombies; for liberals, it's Republican Zombie Defense online game (apparently removed). Anyone who doesn't agree with you must be a zombie. The Obama Zombie label, though, seems to have been far more used, possibly thanks to its assonance and consonance. But it also has an undertone of racism—the word and concept were Haitian, derived from Africa, which is why the old Bela Legosi movie was White Zombie. Until then, the assumption was that zombies were black—another latent fear of globalization, porous borders, and those different from one's self. Max Brooks nods to this origin in World War Z, and Romero has always been interested in the relationships between zombies and race as well.
If you add the last five reasons up, you get this:
Permission for violence: in film after film and game after game, you see an unambiguous, unmitigated invitation to unself-conscious carnage. There's no diplomatic solution, no treaties, no peaceful protest possible. There's no Occupy Zombieland movement. There are only blows to the head or else your brains are eaten. Zombies may be dead, but unlike Frankenstein's monster, they're beyond sympathy, and unlike vampires, no one actually wants to be one. Ever.
Which leads us to the last factor:
Twilight ruined vampires for a while. So zombies it is. So if being a vampire means being all emo and sparkly and not getting to do anything cool and spending the rest of your life in high school and the best part is like climbing trees or playing baseball—crap you can do without being dead—then maybe we don't want to be vampires anymore anyway. And part of the allure of the monster is its Otherness, the ways in which it simultaneously both is and isn't like a person. But once the vampire becomes the object of conscious and able-to-be-consummated desire, it loses its taboo allure. But as of right now at least, no teenage girl fantasizes about marrying a zombie. Zombies, unlike the Cullens, remain Other, but an Other so close to the original as to be terrifying rather than potentially enticing, the Uncanny Valley of Monsters.
Of course I could be wrong. I would have thought we'd reached Peak Zombie in 2006. In his book Understanding Movies, Louis Giannetti says that all film genres begin with a primitive stage, move into a classical stage, see a revisionist stage, and end in a parodic stage. It seems clear enough that White Zombie is primitive; Dawn of the Dead is classical; I Am Legend, with Will Smith and Hollywood production values, is revisionist; and Shawn of the Dead is parodic. Yet here we are, with zombies more popular than ever.
But all that could change. Or if we have not reached peak zombie, it's because we have yet to see the Twilight-ization of the zombie genre; striving to see, and love, what remains human in the zombie is still relatively untapped (unless you count the end of Shaun of the Dead). The one place I've seen an attempt to humanize the zombie is the trailer for the video game "Dead Island," which is more emotionally affective than a trailer for a zombie video game has any right to be [warning: graphic violence]:
Notice how, through its Memento-esque backwards chronology, we see a chilling reminder, one that even a taut, literary thriller like Zone One is afraid to depict: that if we see ourselves in zombies, it is because we are already always potential zombies, and zombies are already us. Perhaps, then, zombies offer a sustainable, renewable resource, and though the era of the zombie may peak and then ebb, it will not run out after all.
So sleep well, knowing that zombies may be around for a long time to come.
Time: 90 minutes! Gaa. Fourth entry and I've already broken my rule. I did waste 10 minutes looking for, reading, adding, and deleting links about peak oil, though. Then another 10 minutes to zombify my picture. It also took me about 10 minutes to remember which video game trailer I wanted. So it's sort of an hour. The funny thing is, this was supposed to be a review of Whitehead's Zone One. Another time.
Tagged Dead Island, Frankenstein, George Romero, Obama Zombies, Twilight, World War Z, zombies, Zone One

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
SOMETHING OLD:
LEESBURG VINTNER By Chelsea Rose Moore
eople sometimes choose their careers, but other times careers choose people. For Mike Carroll, the latter was definitely the case. He began working at a wine shop after high school and soon knew it was what he wanted to do forever. "I always tell people: If you're going to open your own shop, make mistakes with other people's money," he quipped, "I learned so much by doing that." Carroll spent 12 years at Cheese and Bottle, an Arlington-based wine shop, where he worked his way up to manager. After dreaming of owning a wine shop for years, he knew he'd struck gold when he found the little shop on the corner of King and Loudoun in Old Town Leesburg. In its 30 years of existence, Leesburg Vintner has become an iconic mainstay in town. "I feel lucky," said Carroll, "I love this corner. I think it's the best corner in Loudoun County." Leesburg Vintner provides perks that big box wine stores cannot offer. Looking for a quick visit? You can be in and out of the store in five minutes. Want to do a tasting, enjoy a glass, and linger for a while? You can do that, too. Want to purchase a case? Pull up to the store and Carroll will carry it to your car, plus give you a case discount. Got a special order you can't find in a store? Give him a few days' notice and Carroll will track it down for you. "We do things with our customer service that you can't get in a big box store," he said, "It's a relationship you build up with
Knot | From page 34 Together, the family travels the country in search of the best vendors to bring to the stores. The Lucky Knot locations stock the same brands so if one doesn't have your size, they can call another. The owners love fashion consulting with customers who come in looking for an outfit for a special occasion or business meeting. "We love dressing up women, making them feel great, and seeing them leave the
customers. People are very, very loyal if you take care of them." His penchant for strong customer service and outstanding wine has been celebrated through the numerous awards his store has won including the Virginia Wine Retailer of the Year and the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce Small Retailer Business of the Year. In 2012, the wine connoisseur started his own private wine label, Carroll Vineyards with wines made by Doug Fabbioli. In
addition to his own label, customers can find wine from around the world and many local wineries at Leesburg Vintner. "We taste every bottle we sell and stand behind every bottle we sell. You don't like it, bring it back. We'll take care of you." ML Find Leesburg Vintner at 29 South King St., Leesburg. Store hours are Tuesday – Saturday, from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Sunday from 12 – 5 p.m. To join the Leesburg Vintner email list or learn more about upcoming tastings, visit www.leesburg-vintner.com.
store with a beautiful outfit to wear," said Koukides. Lucky Knot offers a one-on-one level of customer service which is apparent from the moment one steps through the door. Running a business with family has been fantastic journey for them all. "We can fight one minute, and the next minute, we love each other," said Koukides. "We work really good together. We take each other's advice and comments." Koukides, her mom, and her sisters Athina Kohilas and Stavroulla Kokkinis rotate be-
tween all of the stores. Each play a unique role in the business from buyers to decorators to accountants, but all love assisting customers. When they are all in the store, they love working on everything together. ML The Lucky Knot is open Monday – Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hours are seasonal, call to confirm. The newest shop is located at 9 N. King Street, Leesburg. Learn more or shop online at theluckyknot.com.
M AY 2 0 1 9
middleburglife.com
Middleburg Life
Middleburg Life | May 2019 Issue
Ali Wolff has represented the U.S. in competitions worldwide with her string of mounts, racking up impressive prizes along the way. In June...
middleburglife6


Old Sturbridge Village is revved up to host an antique car rally from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 2. The event will showcase pre-1946 automobiles and antique horse-drawn carriages. Admission is $24; seniors, $22; children 3-17, $8; children, 2 and younger, free. The village is at 1 Old Sturbridge Village Road, Sturbridge. (800) 733-1830 or www.osv.org.


Nothing is better than watching the sun rise and set over a lake. Nothing can capture the way the colors play and change on the water before your very eyes. Nothing can compete with a dip in the water on a hot summer's day. Nothing comes close to memories of fishing with grandpa or taking the kids out for a round of tubing or jet skiing.
Lakes are full of good old fashion fun. Owning a lakefront property is ideal for entertaining friends, family and any other guests. Lakeside retreats are perfect for people of all ages. Whether you are looking for beautiful sights or enjoyable pastimes, lakefront property has it all.
Looking to Purchase Lakefront Property?
If you are in love with the pace of life out on the lake and the fun adventures it brings, it's time to look for the perfect lakefront property for you! At Illinois Farm and Rec Land, we know the properties around this state like the back of our hands. Allow Real Estate Agent Brad Belser to connect you with a lakefront property that will suit your needs.
Trying to Sell Lakefront Property?
As a lakefront property, your home is unique. At Illinois Farm and Rec Land, we understand the value of your land. Trust top real estate agent Brad Belser to help sell your lakefront property. His experience in the field and in marketing will not disappoint.
Call Illinois Farm and Rec Land Today!
Whether you are looking to sell or buy lakefront property, real estate agent Brad Belser is the right man to get the job done. He will make sure you are connected to the right people and properties so you walk away satisfied from your lakefront property transaction. Contact Brad online, or call him today at 309-231-1449. If you are interested in buying or selling other land, learn more about hunting ground properties and farmland properties.


"We found that women showed poorer short-term recovery than men in the first year following arthroscopic meniscal tear removal surgery, and people with osteoarthritis also did not do as well as others," says principal investigator Peter Fabricant, BS, a medical student at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn. "The factors associated with a poorer long-term outcome, such as larger tear size, greater amount of tissue removed, advanced patient age, and higher Body Mass Index, are not the same as those we can associate with short-term surgical recovery."
The meniscus is the shock-absorbing tissue that cushions the knee joint preventing the bones from rubbing. Tears in this tissue can cause pain and loss of function. In arthroscopic partial meniscectomy, the surgeon inserts small surgical instruments and a camera through tiny incisions in the knee to remove torn tissue. An estimated 636,000 arthroscopic knee procedures are performed annually, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
Fabricant and colleagues at Yale University studied 126 patients who underwent arthroscopic partial meniscectomy to assess the impact of obesity, age, gender, amount of tissue removed, and degenerative joint changes on short-term recovery. They found that being female and the extent of osteoarthritis were associated with a less-than-optimal first-year recovery.
Other studies have shown that advanced age, obesity, and the amount of meniscal tissue removed all negatively affect long-term outcome from arthroscopic meniscal repair. "In our study these variables did not affect short-term recovery. Conversely, gender and osteoarthritis appear to play a role in short-term recovery, as they have been shown to do in the long-term," Fabricant comments.
The current medical literature only offers research findings on long-term outcomes following arthroscopic meniscal repair. "We couldn't find anything in the literature to predict recovery during the first year," explains Fabricant. "Physicians need to be able to discuss with patients how long it might be before they can return to optimal function levels in work and activities of daily living."
Fabricant and colleagues suggest that severe osteoarthritis in the knee may be a contraindication to surgery. "Arthritis may be a marker for a degenerated knee, which may not be able to recover as well as a healthy, non-arthritic knee," Fabricant says.
Osteoarthritis may also be a marker for worse overall knee function in general. Patients with severe osteoarthritis already have loss of cartilage and soft tissue. Further tissue removal appears to have minimal impact on patient knee pain and function during the year following surgery.
The investigators say that it is unclear exactly how female gender complicates surgical recovery. Fabricant notes that there are gender differences both in surgical outcome and possibly in the biomechanics resulting in how the knee was initially injured. Even before surgery, women typically reported more knee pain and decreased knee function compared to men.


text:
Georgia Tech should give Brent Key the job forever
Taking charge mid-season meanwhile comes with obvious challenges. Something went very wrong and there is little time to make corrections. Being the permanent head coach comes with many more difficulties including hiring a staff. Key is a technician, which is important. But he was only a one-season coordinator at a Group of Five school, with poor results.
DiscoverFour-star QB Jakhari Williams signs up for Georgia Tech's Class of 2024
Those are the potential downsides to hiring Key as a permanent head coach, where "permanent" in his job means "until further notice." I still say Batt should do it. It's not just that Key's Jackets have won more games than they've lost. They've also developed a resilience they just didn't have with Collins.
His tenure ended with nine straight losses to FBS opponents. There have been four consecutive uncompetitive attempts against Power Five opponents. The same team that used to give up too many times began to step in with Key as the leader. So many times the jackets have appeared forever downcast just to get off the mat.
Tech had a bye week after starting 2-0 with Key. There was optimism around the program again. Then the Jackets lost at home to Virginia, the ACC Coastal's worst team before they were buried in Florida state. The next week, the Jackets overcame an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win at Virginia Tech. Tech returned home thinking of a bowl game, only to collapse against middling Miami in the fourth quarter.
No. 2 QB Zach Pyron suffered a season-ending injury during that game. Key soon announced that No. 1 QB Jeff Sims would not play again this season. The Jackets were physically battered and weighed down by a difficult season. So I thought they would be in No. 13 North Carolina to be blown out.
My prognosis looked good when Tech fell 17-0 down early on. However, the Jackets scored 21 straight points to win as underdogs with three touchdowns. North Carolina, the ACC's highest-scoring team, was ruled out because of its last six possessions. It was the latest and greatest effort from Key's brave jackets.
Key has shown he deserves to keep his job. Maybe I'm the wrong person to talk to on this topic because I also thought Collins was the right coach for Tech. My argument made sense: Collins has a long track record of being a good recruiter, including a stint as a tech assistant, and he had coordinated a good defense at the SEC.
Collins upped tech recruitment in the post-option era. Coaching is where he fell short. Running defense in the top league in the country for five seasons and two years as Temple head coach did not translate into success as Tech head coach. Collins seemed a good fit with Tech. It just didn't work. It happens.
Key's resume is relatively thin compared to Collins'. He was the 2015 offensive coordinator for Central Florida under former tech coach George O'Leary. The Knights ranked 126th out of 128 FBS teams in terms of points scored. Prior to this season, O'Leary, who was also interim athletic director, endorsed Key as his successor. But O'Leary withdrew after an 0-8 start and the school's president announced that the next head coach would come from outside the program.
Key became an offensive line coach in Alabama under Nick Saban. In 2019 he returned to his alma mater for the same position and more money. Batt, a former administrator at Bama, must decide if Key should be the permanent head coach without seeing him work as a coordinator. It's a delicate situation.
Saban confirmed the point to AJC Tech beat writer Ken Sugiura last month. Saban listed what he saw as Key's positive qualities at Alabama: recruiting, relationship building, communication, and bringing out the best in the players under his stewardship. But he added:
"When you have someone in a position of responsibility like a coordinator, it's a little bit easier to assess whether they would be able to take that next step and be a head because they have a leadership position for a whole group coach. Sometimes it's hard to judge if someone is just an assistant coach. But I think (Key's) has all the ingredients to become one."
Swinney did that to Clemson. Then-athletic director Terry Don Phillips had identified Swinney as the head coach during his more than five years as an offensive assistant. Swinney had never committed a crime, but Phillips recognized his leadership qualities. Swinney built Clemson into a national power.
If Tech hires Key as a permanent coach, he's unlikely to win as big as Swinney. On the other hand, Key was unlikely to make the Jackets competitive after acquiring Collins. Batt should give him a chance to do more as Tech's head coach.
The Ohio Department of Agriculture introduces a tax credit…
Alcami completes the next phase of biopharma warehouse expansion at Masy BioServices
Where Americans have the highest and lowest credit scores


text:
#include <stdio.h>
#include <fcntl.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <sys/uio.h>
#include <sys/stat.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <math.h>
#include <time.h>

#include <liblog/liblog.h>

#include "libsimulator.h"

SMSimulator * SMSimulatorNew(unsigned long elementCount)
{
    SMSimulator * sim;

    sim = (SMSimulator *)calloc(1, sizeof(SMSimulator));
    sim->elementCount = elementCount;
    sim->computer = COContextNew();
    sim->library = SMProgramLibraryNew(sim->computer);

    SMProgramLibrarySetGlobalCount(sim->library, elementCount);

    // Allocate native buffers for particles / newtonian properties
    sim->particles = (PAPhysicsParticle *)
        calloc(elementCount, sizeof(PAPhysicsParticle));

    sim->newtonian = (PAPhysicsNewtonian *)
        calloc(elementCount, sizeof(PAPhysicsNewtonian));

    if(!sim->particles || !sim->newtonian)
    {
        LOError("out of native memory");
        SMProgramLibraryFree(sim->library);
        COContextFree(sim->computer);

        if(sim->particles)
            free(sim->particles);

        if(sim->newtonian)
            free(sim->newtonian);

        free(sim);
    }

    // Allocate remote (OpenCL) buffers to copy native buffers to/from
    sim->clParticles = COBufferNew(sim->computer, elementCount,
                                   sizeof(PAPhysicsParticle), true);
    sim->clNewtonian = COBufferNew(sim->computer, elementCount,
                                   sizeof(PAPhysicsNewtonian), true);

    LOLog("Allocated video memory (%ld KB)",
          ((2 * elementCount * sizeof(PAPhysicsParticle)) +
          (2 * elementCount * sizeof(PAPhysicsNewtonian))) / 1024);

    return sim;
}

SMSimulator * SMSimulatorNewFromFile(const char * filename)
{
    SMSimulator * sim;
    PASystem * sys;

    sys = PASystemNewFromFile(filename);

    sim = SMSimulatorNew(sys->initialParticleCount);
    sim->system = sys;

    sim->forcePrograms = (COProgram **)calloc(sim->system->forceCount,
                                              sizeof(COProgram *));

    // Load each force from the PASystem; instantiate a copy of the necessary
    // kernel, setting various arguments as needed
    for(unsigned int i = 0; i < sim->system->forceCount; i++)
    {
        PAPhysicsForce * force;
        COProgram * k;
        COBuffer * forceBuf;

        force = sim->system->forces[i];
        k = sim->forcePrograms[i] = SMProgramLibraryMakeProgram(sim->library,
                                                                force->type);

        forceBuf = COBufferNew(sim->computer, 1, sizeof(PAPhysicsForce), false);
        COBufferSet(forceBuf, force);

        COProgramSetArgument(k, 0,
                             COArgumentNewWithBuffer(sim->clParticles, 0));
        COProgramSetArgument(k, 1,
                             COArgumentNewWithBuffer(sim->clParticles, 1));
        COProgramSetArgument(k, 2,
                             COArgumentNewWithBuffer(sim->clNewtonian, 0));
        COProgramSetArgument(k, 3,
                             COArgumentNewWithBuffer(sim->clNewtonian, 1));
        COProgramSetArgument(k, 4, COArgumentNewWithBuffer(forceBuf, 0));
        COProgramSetArgument(k, 5, COArgumentNewWithInt(sim->elementCount));
    }

    // Load the integrator and set its arguments

    sim->integrationProgram =
        SMProgramLibraryMakeProgram(sim->library, PAPhysicsIntegrationType);

    COProgramSetArgument(sim->integrationProgram, 0,
                         COArgumentNewWithBuffer(sim->clParticles, 0));
    COProgramSetArgument(sim->integrationProgram, 1,
                         COArgumentNewWithBuffer(sim->clParticles, 1));
    COProgramSetArgument(sim->integrationProgram, 2,
                         COArgumentNewWithBuffer(sim->clNewtonian, 0));
    COProgramSetArgument(sim->integrationProgram, 3,
                         COArgumentNewWithBuffer(sim->clNewtonian, 1));
    COProgramSetArgument(sim->integrationProgram, 4,
                         COArgumentNewWithInt(sim->elementCount));

    SMSimulatorRandomize(sim);

    return sim;
}

// copy data from normal memory -> video memory
void SMSimulatorPushData(SMSimulator * sim)
{
    COBufferSet(sim->clParticles, sim->particles);
    COBufferSet(sim->clNewtonian, sim->newtonian);
}

// copy particle locations from video -> normal memory
void SMSimulatorPullData(SMSimulator * sim)
{
    COBufferGet(sim->clParticles, (void**)&sim->particles);
    COBufferGet(sim->clNewtonian, (void**)&sim->newtonian);
}

// randomly choose particle positions, using all available particles
void SMSimulatorRandomize(SMSimulator * sim)
{
    srand((int)time(NULL));

    for(unsigned int i = 0; i < sim->elementCount; i++)
    {
        sim->particles[i].lifetime = -1.0;
        sim->newtonian[i].ox = sim->particles[i].x =
            (PAFloat)rand()/(PAFloat)RAND_MAX;
        sim->newtonian[i].oy = sim->particles[i].y =
            (PAFloat)rand()/(PAFloat)RAND_MAX;
        sim->newtonian[i].oz = sim->particles[i].z =
            (PAFloat)rand()/(PAFloat)RAND_MAX;

        sim->newtonian[i].mass = 50000000.0 * (PAFloat)rand()/(PAFloat)RAND_MAX;
    }
}

void setupEmitterParticle(SMSimulator * sim, int p, PAEmitter * emitter)
{
    sim->particles[p].lifetime = emitter->lifetime;
    sim->particles[p].x = emitter->particle.x;
    sim->particles[p].y = emitter->particle.y;
    sim->particles[p].z = emitter->particle.z;

    sim->newtonian[p].ox = sim->particles[p].x +
        ((PAFloat)rand()/(PAFloat)RAND_MAX - 0.5) * 0.01;
    sim->newtonian[p].oy = sim->particles[p].y +
        ((PAFloat)rand()/(PAFloat)RAND_MAX - 0.5) * 0.01;
    sim->newtonian[p].oz = sim->particles[p].z +
        ((PAFloat)rand()/(PAFloat)RAND_MAX - 0.5) * 0.01;

    sim->newtonian[p].mass = 50000000.0 *
        (PAFloat)rand()/(PAFloat)RAND_MAX;
}

void SMSimulatorSimulate(SMSimulator * sim)
{
    if(sim->system->emitterCount)
        SMSimulatorPullData(sim);

    for(unsigned int i = 0; i < sim->system->emitterCount; i++)
    {
        unsigned int oldCount = sim->elementCount;
        PAEmitter * emitter = sim->system->emitters[i];

        unsigned int neededParticles = emitter->birthRate;

        for(unsigned int p = 0; p < sim->elementCount; p++)
        {
            if(sim->particles[p].lifetime == 0)
            {
                setupEmitterParticle(sim, p, emitter);
                neededParticles--;
            }

            if(neededParticles == 0)
                break;
        }

        if(neededParticles > 0)
        {
            sim->elementCount += (neededParticles * 10) + 1024;

            if(sim->elementCount % 2) // We really don't like odd elementCounts
                sim->elementCount++;
        }

        if(oldCount != sim->elementCount)
        {
            SMProgramLibrarySetGlobalCount(sim->library, sim->elementCount);

            sim->particles = (PAPhysicsParticle *)
                realloc(sim->particles,
                        sim->elementCount * sizeof(PAPhysicsParticle));

            sim->newtonian = (PAPhysicsNewtonian *)
                realloc(sim->newtonian,
                        sim->elementCount * sizeof(PAPhysicsNewtonian));

            for(unsigned int p = oldCount; p < oldCount + neededParticles; p++)
                setupEmitterParticle(sim, p, emitter);

            COBufferResize(sim->clParticles, sim->elementCount);
            COBufferResize(sim->clNewtonian, sim->elementCount);

            for(unsigned int j = 0; j < sim->system->forceCount; j++)
            {
                COProgramSetArgument(sim->forcePrograms[j], 5,
                                     COArgumentNewWithInt(sim->elementCount));
            }
            COProgramSetArgument(sim->integrationProgram, 4,
                                 COArgumentNewWithInt(sim->elementCount));
        }
    }

    if(sim->system->emitterCount)
        SMSimulatorPushData(sim);

    for(unsigned int i = 0; i < sim->system->forceCount; i++)
    {
        COProgramExecute(sim->forcePrograms[i]);
        COContextWait(sim->computer);
    }

    COProgramExecute(sim->integrationProgram);
    COContextWait(sim->computer);

    COBufferSwap(sim->clParticles);
    COBufferSwap(sim->clNewtonian);

    SMSimulatorPullData(sim);
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Hauling Like a Brooligan
Go to the circus, laugh at the clowns, and then go home and have nightmares about them. That's entertainment.
Casting the Runes
UPDATE: Released February 7th, 2019
If you're still waiting for this, so am I; the plan was for a December Audible release but it's been pushed to early in the New Year. I can't tell you any more than that, but I can tell you this; I've heard the finished show and I'm really happy with the way it's turned out. Just look at the headliners in our powerhouse cast:
Anna Maxwell Martin, Reece Shearsmith, and Tom Burke in Casting the Runes
If you need to scratch your Jamesian itch while you're waiting, Neil Brand's 15 Minute Drama adaptations of five M R James stories are available on BBC Sounds until January 18th. And if it's the straight text you want then Audible itself carries several Casting the Runes original short story readings, most of fine quality.
So, what do we bring to the table? A new and contemporary take on the story is something I've been wanting to tackle for some time, and when Simon Barnard at Bafflegab Productions offered me the opportunity, I went for it.
The idea had been cooking for a while. I've always been a fan of Night of the Demon, in which Bennet and Tourneur brought the tale forward in time to a '50s setting to produce a remarkable movie and a classic of the genre. There's an underlying power in the story that doesn't only survive translation, but energises the retelling.
I revisited the film before I tackled the script (one of the joys of the job, and you get to call it research). But that was for the sole reason of ensuring that I took nothing from it.
I was there for the day of the recording in West London. It went well. If you want to know anything further, you'll need to give it a listen.
(You can read about Audible's free 30-day trial at audible.co.uk; if you leave Audible you get to keep your purchased material, so technically you could get the download for nothing. When I signed up last year it was to get hold of Adam Roche's remarkable podcast series The Secret History of Hollywood, only to find that Audible-exclusive podcasts are bundled in with your membership at no extra charge. So I got my free stuff and stayed to graze, on items like Bafflegab's own award-winning production of Blood on Satan's Claw; which is why such offers make commercial sense, I suppose.)
As soon as I get that firm release date, I'll post it here and on Twitter.
(Cast photo by Lisa Bowerman)
Posted by Stephen Gallagher at 12:11 0 comments
THE SPIRIT BOX 2-day promotion, free download
From midnight to midnight (Pacific Time) over Sunday December 23rd and Monday 24th, you can download The Spirit Box from Amazon at no cost. Zilch. Zero.
Update: extended to the end of Christmas Day, December 25th.
Click here for your region's Amazon link or scroll down and click on 'Buy the ebook'.
"The finest British writer of bestselling popular fiction since le Carré … Gallagher, like le Carré , is a novelist whose themes seem to reflect something of the essence of our times, whose skill lies in embedding those themes in accessible plots."—The Independent
Rachel's in trouble. She's a ticking bomb. A couple of co-workers bullied her into stealing a radical new drug from their employer, and now it's lodged inside her. They're watching her like hawks and her time's running out. John Bishop runs security for the company; as a father who once lost a teenaged daughter to an accidental overdose, his drive to hunt down the thieves and rescue their victim grows more intense with every lost minute. He can never bring his own child back. But he can save someone else's. Then his superiors realise that if the swallowed package bursts and Rachel dies, their secrets are kept safe and their problem goes away. Though Bishop's on the trail, he's an easy man to cut loose and discredit. But now he's Rachel's only hope.
"Gallagher's hardboiled style is pitch-perfect for the tale's grim events, but he leavens it with dislocating moments of powerful emotion that draw the reader irresistibly to the characters. The novel packs a wallop that should make an impact on fans of both suspense and horror fiction."—Publishers' Weekly
"Stephen Gallagher has carved a highly individual niche with his distinctly psychological approach to the genre."—Yorkshire Evening Post
"His prose is clear and diamond-sharp, his imagination dark and vivid... a terrifying walk along the edge of nightmare."—Time Out
"One of Britain's most exciting writers of literate, nerve-shredding thrillers."—Starburst
"Perhaps the finest contemporary British thriller writer."—GQ
"Gallagher has quietly become Britain's finest popular novelist, working a dark seam between horror and the psychological thriller."—Arena
Buy the paperback
The Spirit Box Stephen Gallagher Paperback: 292 pages £7.99 Publisher: The Brooligan Press (7 Nov. 2017) Language: English ISBN-10: 0995797374 ISBN-13: 978-0995797376
Seriously, eBay?
I reckon Putin's people must have hacked eBay and now they're trolling me. I searched for a nice old hardback copy of Boris Pasternak's counter-revolutionary classic Doctor Zhivago, and now when I log in these are my literary 'recommendations':
The map puzzle book is the hardest to explain, unless it's an unsubtle message for me to 'get lost...'
But then you can always rely on family for support.
Doctor Who, Season 18 on Blu Ray
The 'as-yet unscheduled' limited edition Blu Ray release of Doctor Who season 18 is now on the schedule for a February 2019 UK launch. It includes a feature titled The Writers' Room, filmed in a secret location (okay, it was a rather fine pub in Stoke Newington) where Chris Bidmead, Andrew Smith, John Flanagan and I got together for a summer afternoon of chat and Who memories.
Andrew has described the get-together as a highlight of the year, and I entirely concur. If you enjoy watching it half as much as we enjoyed making it... well, then I guess we'll have had twice as much fun as you.
Other new bonus features include commentary tracks with Tom Baker on The Leisure Hive, and Lalla Ward and Rachel Davies on State of Decay, both moderated by Matthew Sweet, while Warriors Gate gets a surround sound mix masterminded by sonic supremo Mark Ayres. Along with the new material comes the stuff previously compiled for the DVDs.
Oh, and I expect there are some shows on there as well.
And while I've got you here, don't forget this:
Pre-order the Blu Ray Set
More on the Audio Novel
Leytonstone: the Afterword
The second in Stephen Volk's Dark Masters trilogy of novellas, each of which delves into the fictional psyche of a real-life figure from the darker end of the popular arts, Leytonstone is an extended riff upon a well-known incident from the early life of Alfred Hitchcock. I was honoured to be asked to write an afterword to its original edition from the Spectral Press.
Now all three novellas have been collected together into a single hardcover volume by PS Publishing, and a thing of great beauty it is. Leytonstone now takes its place between Whitstable (featuring Peter Cushing) and Netherwood (Dennis Wheatley, in a tale of an uneasy alliance with 'Great Beast' Aleister Crowley).
There are no afterwords in this new edition, either mine or that of Mark Morris for Whitstable; but you can read my little Hitchcock essay here, if you like.
You don't have to have read the novella. Though you may want to, and you should.
But don't say you were never warned...
Read the Afterword
Buy the Trilogy
Scraps of WHO
A quick note on some Doctor Who-related stuff I've got coming up in the New Year. I'll give more details on each in due course but for now, just the headlines...
During the summer I was one of four Season 18 writers participating in a filmed chat for the as-yet unscheduled Blu Ray release. All of us around a table in a rather nice pub. I've seen an early cut and it's turned out rather well.
I've signed a contract for a BBC Audiobook of the Terminus novelisation, and...
After banging on about the 'lost' version of the Warriors' Gate novelisation for many years, I finally bit the bullet and reassembled the text from surviving fragments, again for BBC Audio. The production will be something special. With BBC Books focusing more on recent material, there are no plans at this stage for a print version.
Frank Collins is working on The Black Archive #29, a book-length study of Warriors' Gate. Along with interviews from me, director Paul Joyce, and others, he's had access to all my drafts and working papers in the Hull History Centre.
Neil Cole's Museum of Classic Sci-fi in the Northumbrian village of Allendale features some pieces from Warriors' Gate and, most impressively, the original Garm mask and costume from Terminus.
More on each of these as news becomes available.
And in the meantime, there'll be the audio release of Casting the Runes, a contemporary production featuring Tom Burke, Anna Maxwell Martin, with Reece Shearsmith as Karswell, from Audible in December.
Becker's World
"We have a man. We want to know if we can trust him and I think you can get us the answer."
Sebastian Becker was never meant to live, but sometimes you just don't plan these things.
He made his first appearance in The Kingdom of Bones, pursuing the fugitive Tom Sayers from London's Music Hall circuit to a final confrontation in a Lousiana furniture store, a Javert to Sayers' Valjean. The Bedlam Detective found him back in England with his young family, working cash-in-hand to support them as an investigator for the Lord Chancellor's Visitor in Lunacy. In The Authentic William James he's handed a job with political implications that he turns into a personal mission.
"You feel others' pain. But you won't share your own. There are people who love you. They love you more than you know. But you can never bring yourself to believe that you deserve it."
Along the way I've been adding shorter pieces, fleshing out Becker's world, filling in some of the gaps. Out of Bedlam falls between The Kingdom of Bones and The Bedlam Detective; the action of One Dove slots in between Bedlam Detective and William James. The new novella takes us forward with a character whose potential I'd begun to sense along the way. For new readers it includes a (relevant) sample chapter from The Authentic William James.
buy the paperback novella, 102pp
ISBN 978 999920784
Broadcast Blues
I've begun watching a WGA preview screener of Amazon's Homecoming with Sam (Mr Robot) Esmail directing Julia Roberts in a podcast-inspired drama. It's too early for me to offer judgment, but so far it's intriguing and engaging and matches no obvious broadcast model – half-hour serial fiction with varying episode lengths and other "No one ever does that" elements that I'll leave you to discover.
Right now it seems like no more than a week or two goes by without some form-breaking novelty from one of the streaming platforms. A lot of shows that do nothing for me, but a significant number that do. 3 years ago I was working for a US network whose drama VP told me that the traditional networks were expecting to survive no more than 6 years in their current form. I get it now.
This item in The Guardian's media section brought that conversation back to mind:
The big game-changer was Beau Willimon and David Fincher's House of Cards, I reckon. Prior to that, online drama meant no-budget, no-name exercises in the disguising of negligible resources. HoC landed among the webisodes like Orson Welles in a paddling pool.
The success of Netflix et al is that of providing for a wide variety of tastes. In the arc of my career I've seen UK broadcasting go from 'something for everyone' to the steady narrowing of focus onto one or other imaginary demographic. Lost count of the number of times I've been told what "the ITV viewer" or "the BBC1 audience" wants (usually homely and heartwarming 'people like us' stories).
Nothing wrong with that. But it's like beans for every meal.
I had a conspiracy theory that the BBC's Bodyguard Radio Times cover spoiler was a veiled rebuke to the on-demand viewer. But I do hope our national broadcasters survive and prosper, without being reduced to a diet of sports and shiny-floor shows with live voting..
By the sound of it, they've got 3 more years to work out how.
Dark Mirages: Dracula
Dark Mirages is a new book presenting unproduced screenplays by writers with genre credentials, each with a story behind it.
In my case Dracula was commissioned by the BBC and cancelled, unread, on the very day that I delivered the script. The producers were Deep Indigo working with BBC Wales.
My angle was that nobody had 'done' the book properly since Gerald Savory's 1970s adaptation. Dracula is a work that's often plundered and rarely honoured. Stoker never gets the respect that's automatically accorded to an Austen, an Eliot, or a Hardy, maybe because he wrote an instinctive classic rather than a cerebral one.
Things would have to change, as in adaptations they always do. But for me the guiding motivation would always be the question, What was Stoker getting at, here?
I won't insult you by explaining how the novel is a collage of second-hand perceptions, cast in the form of letters, journals, and dictated notes from the principal characters. The character of Count Dracula is offstage for much of the novel, which adds to his mystery and enhances his credibility.
Because of this approach, you don't get Count Dracula's version of the events. You can work it out by a kind of literary triangulation, but I've never seen it done and still come out as Stoker. Dracula's role gets rewritten, as if his character somehow isn't integral, nor needs to be rendered with any fidelity to the author.
What we usually get is either a romantic rapist or, if the makers want to signal that they've seen Nosferatu, a hideous cockroach. Rarely has anyone made a serious attempt to show us Stoker's nasty-minded, empty-hearted predator, who insists to his dissipated party-girl 'brides' that he's capable of love, and then goes on to prove at great length that he isn't.
It was the fastest, fiercest script I've ever written. We opened a discussion with Vincent Cassel's people, for our Dracula of choice. And as my script made its way to Cardiff a drama executive in London heard of a proposed ITV version over lunch and cancelled our project that same afternoon.
We had a completed script, we were way ahead. The other project didn't even have a writer yet. But the news took over a week to reach us, during which time the producers of the ITV project got out a press announcement and effectively bombed the BBC's boat.
There's a coda. About two years later, the BBC financed ITV's version and screened it as their own. I didn't - couldn' t - watch, but the general opinion seems to be that it was not great.
So there's that.
Click here to pre-order
Publication November 2nd 2018. Paperback and ebook.
In the lobby of a Blackpool hotel, one year after the end of the Great War, Britain's spymaster recruits a young sideshow fortune-teller for a mission of historic importance.
A standalone novella from the author of the Sebastian Becker novels The Kingdom of Bones, The Bedlam Detective, and The Authentic William James.
The Sebastian Becker Stories: Reviews
The New York Times: "The Kingdom of Bones... shows the occult mystery in its best light. Vividly set in England and America during the booming industrial era of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, this stylish thriller conjures a perfect demon to symbolize the age and its appetites… although Gallagher delivers horror with a grand melodramatic flourish, his storytelling skills are more subtly displayed in scenes of the provincial theaters, gentlemen's sporting clubs and amusement parks where a now-vanished society once took its rough pleasures."
The Sunday Times, London: "From its attention-grabbing opening, this period thriller moves back and forth in time to tell a compelling story of a man battling against what he believes to be demonic forces … [Gallagher] is brilliantly successful at evoking the shifting, transient world of travelling theatres and cheap carnivals that provide the backdrop to his twisting tale."
Ed Gorman: "He's an elegant stylist, a shrewd psychologist and a powerful storyteller with enormous range and depth. I finished his latest novel The Kingdom of Bones and I was honestly stunned by what he'd done. The sweep, the majesty, the grit, the grue, the great grief (and the underpinning of gallows humor from time to time). This is not only the finest novel I've read this year but the finest novel I've read in the past two or three years."
Kirkus Reviews: (for The Bedlam Detective, 100 Best Fiction selection for 2012) "Monsters, actual and metaphorical, are at the heart of this superbly crafted thriller. Gallagher loves character development but respects plotting enough to give it full measure. The result is that rare beast, a literary page turner."
Jonny Lee Miller, via Twitter: "Just finished Stephen Gallagher's The Bedlam Detective. Only bad thing about his books is that they eventually end. Brilliant."
New York Times: "Gallagher's detective is a man of fine character and strong principles, but he's upstaged by the monsters he pursues. Watching Becker track down a pedophile is gratifying, but it can't beat the sight of 20 overburdened boats hurtling through white-water rapids or Sir Owain, armed to the teeth and blasting away at giant serpents only he can see."
The Historical Novel Society: "It's certainly a thriller, but with a literary depth unusual in the genre, and fascinating in the complexity of its construct. Gallagher's prose is swift, sure, and occasionally darkly comedic… Three words of advice: read this book."
Stephen Volk: "It's a blinding novel (The Authentic William James)… each chapter had me chuckling with joy—if not at the acerbic wit, the brilliant dialogue—the sheer spot-on elegance of the writing: the plot turns, the pin sharp beats. Always authoritative and con-vincing, never showy. Magnificently realised characters in a living breathing world... Absolutely stunning."
Publishers Weekly (starred): "British author Gallagher gives Sebastian Becker another puzzle worthy of his quirky sleuth's acumen in his outstanding third pre-WWI mystery... Gallagher makes the most of his unusual concept in the service of a twisty but logical plot line."
Stoker and World Fantasy Award nominee, winner of British Fantasy and International Horror Guild Awards for his short fiction, Stephen Gallagher has built a career both as a novelist and as a creator of primetime miniseries and episodic television. His fourteen novels include Valley of Lights, Down River, The Spirit Box, and Nightmare, With Angel.
The Brooligan Press
The Brooligan Press website is now up and running, with details of all the titles in our list and global links for ordering paperbacks and ebooks.
You can find it right here
The British Horror Movie You'll Never Get to See, and Why
Last weekend found me back in Pooley Bridge. It's a village at the northern tip of Ullswater in the Lake District with a post office, a couple of pubs, a handful of tourist shops, a posh bistro, and a steamer pier. Ullswater is, for my money, the fairest of the Lakes, and the village was the model for the settlement that I called Ravens Bridge in my novel The Boat House.
It's the story of a Russian hitchhiker who goes to ground there in the 1980s, on the run from the authorities and from the Soviet-era police agent sent to track her down. She stays because the woods and lakes remind her of her Karelian homeland, a place she was forced to leave because of a growing obsession with deaths by drowning. She finds a seasonal job and a place to crash, and works hard to put down some roots.
I messed about with the place for fictional purposes, of course. I put a lakeside restaurant on the steamer pier and gifted the town a boatyard. I had form for this; it was in the adjacent valley of Martindale that I'd found the setting for my first 'proper' novel, Chimera, just a few years before, and early efforts to teach myself some basic movie skills had involved a 16mm camera, a rented shooting lodge on the Dalemain estate, and a group of press-ganged friends and coworkers.
With The Boat House I can fairly say that I suffered for my art. To research Alina's backstory I made a rail trip from Helsinki to St Petersburg and came home with a dose of Hepatitis A, courtesy of the kitchen hygiene at the Europiskaya Hotel. This made for a somewhat fevered writing process but the result, heavily edited with a cooler head, felt exciting and unique. It took a while to get published, but when the book deal came it was a good one. It wasn't long before screen rights were optioned by a respected producer, and with her I produced a treatment that snagged us Film Council development funding. By now her feature-director husband had become involved. The resulting script drew in a major studio. An A-list cinematographer was attached and a top-notch production designer - if you've ever worked in film you'll know how utterly crucial to a movie's look and tone that is - headed up to the Lakes to start finding locations. It was at this point that I found myself off the project.
What followed was a perplexing time. My unused screenplay was earning its keep as a personal sample and fetching me new work, while the producers kept on commissioning scripts from other writers. I'm not sure how many but after five I stopped counting. These weren't rewrites, but new first drafts. I didn't see them all, but I did see a couple. Here's the problem; all this time, the meter had been running. Even unmade scripts don't come cheap, and nor do feature film department heads. By the time the option expired the charges run up against the production were significant.
I can sell the book again but those turnaround fees would need to be repaid on the first day of principal photography by anyone taking on my screenplay, or any subsequent version of it. Chump change for an American studio, I know; but The Boat House is a British Picture, albeit one with a Lewtonesque vibe. It's closely bound to a landscape with a specific sense of place, and that kind of money is a budget killer for any British producer.
And that's why, barring a miracle, you'll never see the movie.
So what's prompted me to be telling you this now? Well, getting back after a four-hour walk on the hottest day of the year so far, I called into the Post Office to pick up a cold beer or two. Don't judge me, I'd earned it. The Lake District boasts a number of craft brewery labels, but one in particular caught my eye; on the front the image of an ethereal lake creature, and on the back, "By the historic Coniston Copper Mines, mythical Asrai emerge from the caves above the moonlit Levers Water. Cold and pure, these elusive creatures fear capture by man lest they fade away and turn into pools of water."
Mythical Asrai? Moonlit waters? That's pure Boat House stuff. Dang. Where was this brew when I was writing? For inspiration I'll take it over Hep A any time.
Pooley Bridge took a severe battering in the storms and winter floods of 2015, and its charming sixteenth century river crossing was destroyed and swept away. For the short term it's been replaced by a temporary metal bridge with a permanent replacement planned for construction later in the year. A number of padlocks on the ironwork have begun to appear this season, like the ones that brought down the parapet on the Pont des Artes in Paris.
I guess if you want to hedge your bets when declaring undying love, a forever lock on a temporary bridge is the way to go.
Two New Titles from The Brooligan Press
Available now... two new trade paperback titles from The Brooligan Press.
Frankenstein's Prescription Banished to an isolated rural for killing a fellow student in a duel, Hans Schneider meets the mysterious Dr Lavenza and learns about Frankenstein's prescription—the secret of eternal life. Together, Schneider and Lavenza set out to collect the missing pieces of the formula. But they are not alone. From Germany to Rome, from Rome to Paris, to the failed and wretched Eden of an all-too-human God, a dreadful creature follows in their wake and brings destruction wherever they go.
First appearance in paperback. "A unique piece of work; fast, funny, and with a terrific sense of period and place. Frankenstein's Prescription reads like the bastard creation of Jonathan Swift and Jimmy Sangster."
The Companion A broken church window, smashed in a bid to contain the power trapped within its stained glass... The desperate sobbing of a child who isn't there... When restoration expert Kit Farris moves into the adjoining Grange with his three daughters, how can he possibly know what dark forces his work will unleash?
Previously published as Shapeshifter, now appearing for the first time under its original title in an edition revised and expanded by the author. "An excellent book, which celebrates and transcends genre. As much family story as ghost story, a tense drama of abuse, neglect and longing... An old-fashioned ghost tale with a modern edge, consciously a tribute to M R James in its setting and atmosphere." Neil Philip, The Times
Buy Frankenstein's Prescription
Buy The Companion
Incoming...
The Northern Crime Quartet
A retrospective 'umbrella title' that's become attached to four consecutive novels written during my publishing run with Hodder & Stoughton, just before the balance of my career tipped more toward screenwriting.
Four linked stories in a shared Northern landscape, playing variations on a theme of flawed good versus complex evil. Though it was never my intention, some were inclined to read it as a deliberate move to leave my horror/fantasy roots behind and claim a piece of the mainstream. It wasn't, but no matter. I was just looking to create different monsters.
Down River is the story of Nick Frazier and Johnny Mays, two childhood friends reunited as plainclothes police officers, one of them tragically unbalanced and ultimately dangerous. It features the promotion of Jennifer McGann from uniformed duties to CID trainee, and includes witness evidence from a teenaged hitchhiker named Lucy Ashdown.
In Nightmare, with Angel, a convicted criminal (Ryan O'Donnell) earns redemption through a self-sacrificing act that reconciles a lost child (Marianne Cadogan) with her equally lost father. Jennifer McGann is the investigating officer on her first big solo case.
Rain follows Down River's hitchhiking teenager Lucy Ashdown to London in her murdered sister's footsteps. She's pursued by suspended DC Joe Lucas as a favour to her dad. She outwits Joe at every turn, but fails to see that the closer she gets to an answer, the closer she is to sharing her sister's fate.
The Painted Bride focuses on the case of Frank Tanner, a car dealer whose wife has gone missing; no one believes he's killed her apart from Molly Gideon, his sister-in-law. Molly's a recovering heroin addict with no credibility, but she sacrifices everything to protect the children and bring him to justice.
They're tales of ordinary people thrust into extraordinary circumstances. The settings are Northern cities, moorland, marshes and coastline, plus the '80s London of Rain and Nightmare's European angle with the fall of the Berlin Wall. In each of the stories, the violent are broken and the victims are strong. They prevail.
Showreel for 2018
With a third, new collection of material to follow later in the year
The Spirit Box: first time in paperback
This is kind of exciting... following on from the mass-market publication of The Authentic William James comes the first paperback appearance of The Spirit Box, previously available in this gorgeously boxed format with a cover by Chris Moore:
The Spirit Box is closely followed by the paperback debut of The Painted Bride and then, for the first time ever, my backlist titles gathered together in a uniform edition. Not reprints, but new settings from the original texts.
Available now. You can find all these titles, plus links to the ebook editions, here.
A Becker Story
Stephen Gallagher
Doctor Who. BUGS. That creepy monster thing you might remember. Creator of Eleventh Hour and lead writer on Crusoe. Find me on Twitter @brooligan
The Spirit Box
White Bizango
Valley of Lights
The British Horror Movie You'll Never Get to See, ...
...said the actress to the vicar
Another Nickel in the Machine
Between the Pavement and the Stars
Bloggery Pokery
Blowing my Thought Wad
Complications Ensue
Go into the Story
History of the Preston SF Group
John Coulthart
Planet Hood
Scriptwriting & Script Reading in the UK
Stephen Volk
The Bedlam Detective: A Sebastian Becker Blog
The Writers Guild of Great Britain
This Island Rod
Venusian Frog Broth
the pen is mightier than the spork
write here, write now
© Stephen Gallagher unless otherwise credited | Main image © Gerry Grace | Site design by Paul Drummond


text:
| Listen Live
• The Eiffel Tower gets a new glass floor - 10.06
• Observing rituals of faith - 10.03
• Daily Life: September 2014 - 10.01
• Hong Kong protesters refuse to leave - 09.29
For the most recent photos, go to BostonGlobe.com
Translate into:
(Hint: Use 'j' and 'k' keys to move up and down)
Earlier this week Hindus greeted the turn of winter into spring with a massive display of color. They call their celebration the festival of Holi, and Hindus across India and throughout the world share prayer, camaraderie, special food, and a general sense of mischief as they douse each other in dyes and colored water. The festival has roots to many Hindu legends associated with the triumph of good over evil. --Lloyd Young (35 photos total)
An Indian boy drags another on the floor of an apartment as they play with colors during the Holi festival in Chennai, India, on March 16. The festival also marks the advent of spring. (Arun Sankar K/Associated Press)
A reveler smeared with colors dances to Bollywood tunes during the Holi festival in Bangalore, India, on March 17. Holi is celebrated at the end of the winter season on the last full moon day of the lunar month Phalguna (February or March) and its main day is celebrated by people throwing colored powder and colored water at each other. (Jagadeesh NV/EPA) #
An Indian boy plays in a pool of colored water, at the end of Holi celebrations, the Hindu festival of colors at the Baldev Temple in Dauji, 180 kilometers (113 miles) south of New Delhi, India, on March 18. The Baldev Temple is known for a ritual where the women playfully hit men with whips made of cloth as men throw buckets of water mixed with orange dye. (Rajesh Kumar Singh/Associated Press) #
Indian revelers cover each other with colored powder and dance while taking part in Holi festival celebrations in Guwahati on March 17. Holi, the festival of colors, is a popular Hindu spring festival observed in India and Nepal at the end of winter season on the last full moon day of the lunar month. (Biju Boro/AFP/Getty Images) #
A man reacts to colored water being splashed over him during Holi celebrations in the southern Indian city of Chennai on March 17. (Biju Boro/AFP/Getty Images) #
An Indian man with his face smeared with colors to celebrate Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, in Allahabad, India, on March 17. The holiday, celebrated mainly in India and Nepal, marks the beginning of spring and the triumph of good over evil. (Rajesh Kumar Singh/Associated Press) #
An Indian child adorned with colored powder poses for a photograph while taking part in celebrations for the spring festival Holi in Bhubaneswar on March 16. Holi, the popular Hindu spring festival of colors is observed in India at the end of the winter season on the last full moon of the lunar month. (Asit Kumar/AFP/Getty Images) #
A reveler covered in colored powder poses for a photo as she takes part in Holi celebrations organized by members of South Korea's Indian community at Haeundae beach in the southeastern city of Busan on March 16. (Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images) #
Indian Hindu widows and Harijan, or former untouchable, women play with colored water for the first time as part of Holi celebrations organized by a non-governmental organization Sulabh at the Meera Sahbhagini Ashram in Vrindavan, India, on March 14. The widows, many of whom at times have lived desperate lives in the streets of the temple town, celebrated the festival at the century old ashram. After their husband's deaths the women have been banished by their families, for supposedly bringing bad luck, to the town where devotees believe Lord Krishna was born. (Manish Swarup/Associated Press) #
Indian children play in a pool of colored water at the end of Holi celebrations, the Hindu festival of colors at the Baldev Temple in Dauji, 180 kilometers (113 miles) south of New Delhi, India, on March 18. The Baldev Temple is known for a ritual where the women playfully hit men with whips made of cloth as men throw buckets of water mixed with orange dye. (Rajesh Kumar Singh/Associated Press) #
Children take part in Holi celebrations in the southern Indian city of Chennai on March 16. (Babu/Reuters) #
Students extend their hands to receive colored powder from their teacher during Holi celebrations at a school in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad on March 15. (Amit Dave/Reuters) #
A boy sits under a water tap to wash himself after taking part in Holi celebrations in the southern Indian city of Chennai on March 16. (Babu/Reuters) #
A girl smeared with colors reacts as another girl throws colored powder at her during Holi celebrations in the southern Indian city of Chennai on March 16. (Babu/Reuters) #
Boys throw colored powder at another boy standing on a pole as they take part in Holi celebrations in the southern Indian city of Chennai on March 17. (Babu/Reuters) #
An Indian schoolchild dressed as the Hindu god Krishna and adorned with colored powder stands among other students during celebrations for the spring festival Holi in Bhubaneswar on March 16. (Asit Kumar/AFP/Getty Images) #
A Hindu priest throws colored powder over devotees as they celebrate the Holi festival at the Radha Krishna temple in Kolkata on March 17. Holi, the popular Hindu spring festival of colors is observed in India at the end of the winter season on the last full moon of the lunar month. (AFP/Getty Images) #
Bangladeshi students celebrate the festival of color after smearing each other with colored powder during Holi Festival in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on March 16. (Abir Abdullah/EPA) #
A widow throws flowers into the air during Holi celebrations organized by non-governmental organization Sulabh International at a widows' ashram in Vrindavan in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on March 14. (Ahmad Masood/Reuters) #
A man smears the face of a woman with colors during celebrations marking Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, in Mumbai, India, on March 17. The holiday, celebrated mainly in India and Nepal, marks the beginning of spring and the triumph of good over evil. (Rajanish Kakade/Associated Press) #
A widow throws flowers into the air during the Holi celebrations organized by non-governmental organization Sulabh International at a widows' ashram in Vrindavan in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on March 14. Traditionally in Hindu culture, widows are expected to renounce earthly pleasure so they do not celebrate Holi. But women at the shelter for widows, who have been abandoned by their families, celebrated the festival by throwing flowers and colored powder. (Ahmad Masood/Reuters) #
A man dances as he takes part in a colorful procession locally known as "Badshah ki Sawari" as part of Holi celebrations in Beawar, in the desert Indian state of Rajasthan on March 18. (Himanshu Sharma/Reuters) #
A man smeared in colored powder rests beside a dog in front of closed shops after celebrations marking Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, in Allahabad, India, on March 17. (Rajesh Kumar Singh/Associated Press) #
Hindu devotees raise their hands to receive colored holy water from a priest (unseen) outside a temple during Holi celebrations in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad on March 17. (Amit Dave/Reuters) #
Indians, faces smeared with colored powder, dance during celebrations marking Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, in Gauhati, India, on March 17. (Anupam Nath/Associated Press) #
Hindu priest Babulal jumps out of a fire to signify the burning of the demon Holika during a ritual to mark the first day of the Holi spring festival, also known as the festival of colors, at village Phalen near the northern Indian city of Mathura on March 17. Holi in Phalen starts on the first day of the full moon where a Hindu mythological story will be re-enacted to symbolize the victory of good over evil, according to local media. (Adnan Abidi/Reuters) #
An Indian man dances near a bonfire as they celebrate Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, in Allahabad, India, on March 16. (Rajesh Kumar Singh/Associated Press) #
Indian widows covered in colored powder take part in Holi celebrations at an ashram in Vrindavan on March 17. Breaking centuries-old tradition, widows living in the holy city of Vrindavan celebrated the spring color festival of Holi at Meera Sahabhagini Sadan in Vrindavan. In a symbolic gesture, the widows celebrated Holi with colors and gulal unlike the previous year where they only sprinkled flower petals over each other. As per Indian tradition, widows are considered social outcasts and refrain from celebrating Holi. (Chandan Khanna/AFP/Getty Images) #
Indian Hindu widows play with colored powder as a part of Holi celebrations at the Pagal Baba Ashram in Vrindavan, India, on March 15. The widows, many of whom at times have lived desperate lives in the streets of the temple town, celebrated the festival at the ashram. After their husband's deaths the women have been banished by their families to the town where devotees believe Lord Krishna was born, for supposedly bringing bad luck. (Rajesh Kumar Singh/Associated Press) #
Indian men shield themselves from women beating them with wooden sticks during the annual Lathmar Holi festival in Barsana village, Mathura, India, on March 9. In Barsana, people celebrate a variation of Holi called 'Lathmar' Holi, which means beating with sticks. During the Lathmar Holi festival, the women of Barsana, the birth place of Hindu God Krishna's beloved Radha, beat the men from Nandgaon, the hometown of Hindu God Krishna, with wooden sticks in response to their efforts to put color on them. (Harish Tyagi/EPA) #
An Indian girl, face smeared with color, reacts to the camera as she squirts water on others during celebrations marking Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, in Gauhati, India, on March 17. The holiday, celebrated mainly in India and Nepal, marks the beginning of spring and the triumph of good over evil. (Anupam Nath/Associated Press) #
A man lies on the ground smeared with colored powder during celebrations marking Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, in Allahabad, India, on March 17. (Rajesh Kumar Singh/Associated Press) #
Indian revelers play with colored powder during Holi celebrations in Hyderabad on March 17. Holi, also called the festival of colors, is a popular Hindu spring festival observed in India at the end of the winter season on the last full moon day of the lunar month. (Noah Seelam/AFP/Getty Images) #
A Hindu man from the village of Nangaon teases men from Barsana as they play Holi at the Ladali or Radha temple before the procession for the Lathmar Holi festival, the legendary hometown of Radha, consort of Hindu God Krishna, in Barsana 115 kilometers (71 miles) from New Delhi, India, on March 9. During Lathmar Holi the women of Barsana beat the men from Nandgaon, the hometown of Krishna, with wooden sticks in response to their teasing as they depart the town. (Altaf Qadri/Associated Press) #
An Indian man throws colored powder on another as they celebrate Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, in Mumbai India, on March 17. The festival heralds the arrival of spring. (Rafiq Maqbool/Associated Press) #
More links and information
Holi celebrations 2013 - Big Picture post
< Back to front page
You can read all 0 archived comments over here.
0 comments so far...
Select a month October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008
Select a category afghanistan africa agriculture americas animals art asia astronomy Bosnia ceremony crime culture dailylife disaster earth education environment europe health history holiday middleeast notices photographer politics protest religion science society sports technology usa war weather
The Eiffel Tower gets a new glass floor - 10.06
Observing rituals of faith - 10.03
Daily Life: September 2014 - 10.01
Hong Kong protesters refuse to leave - 09.29
The Natural World: September - 09.25
Asian Games 2014 - 09.24
Syrian Kurdish refugees flooding into Turkey - 09.22


The first winners of Kings Head Canter 5K were Geoff Hill (15:20) and Lynn Williams (17:53) and course records are held by Finn McNally (15:06, 2017) and Caroline Hoyte (17:10, 2002). The undulating course between Chiddingly Village Hall and the Kings Head pub and micro brewery at East Hoathly has been measured at 4,980m, with an overall climb of 20m.
The logistics of this race can involve non-running supporters as competitors choose to park at the finish and warm up for two miles across the fields to the start or park at the start and warm down to collect their wheels. However, the best plan is to have a designated driver as all finishers enjoy a free pint of the 1648 Brewing Company's ale in exchange for a race number!
Last year's winners were James Westlake (Crawley AC, 15:16) and W45 Tara Shanahan (Arena 80, 18:24) as Finn McNally's course record was put under pressure in good conditions. Kings Head Canter has often been blessed with fine weather but the 2014 and 2015 races were both held in a deluge. Fingers crossed then for the 2019 edition, which is being held as part of the Harvey Curtis Sussex Road Race Challenge.
Other attractions, apart from the free beer, include the BBQ on the green, Jog Shop Brighton vouchers and unique Kings Head Canter trophies for the first three men, women and age-graded overall – a Kings Head tradition since 1998 using original 1998 Racemaster tables. The race commentary from long serving race director, Stuart Mills, will keep you entertained and photos from Jimmy the Snaps will remind you of a great day out in rural Sussex.
Entries are open now and the race often reaches capacity. Proceeds from the race, which is organised by East Hoathly and Halland Carnival Society, go towards the spectacular annual carnival held in November each year.