Before we begin, watch Part 2 of "How to Paint Realism" below. If you do not have the video, you can either purchase it by clicking the video below, or you can watch my free YouTube video "How to Mix Colors" by clicking here. The free video covers the entire process of color mixing, it just does not demonstrate beyond mixing colors for a single silver cup.
After you watch the Part 2 of "How to Paint Realism", read the entire page below at least once before beginning to mix your colors.
There are only two properties of colors that you need to know in order to mix colors well. They are value and tone.
VALUE is the darkness or lightness/brightness of a color. The three colors below are all the same value, even though one is a reddish color, one is a yellowish color, and one is a blueish color.
Value is not how blue or red or yellow your color is, it is simply how dark or light your color is.
TONE is a word that can mean different things, but in this course it simply means the "color" of the paint, not the value. The two blue colors below are both the same tone, even though they they are different values (one is a darker value and one is a lighter value).
Tone doesn't just mean "blue, purple, red, orange, yellow, or green", but also how intense the color is. For example, the three blue colors below all have a different tone — the first is very blue, the second is less blue, and the third is only a tiny bit blue.
So value refers to the darkness or lightness of a color, while tone refers to how blue, purple, red, orange, yellow, or green the color is. It's as simple as that.
If you happen to be using colors other than those that I recommend on the supply list, this may or may not work for you.
Even if your palettes are different than mine, you will need two clean palettes — one will be used for mixing, and you will transfer the finished colors you mix to the second one.
Because most color groups have black in them, you will very likely need black paint throughout your still life. So it is best to go ahead and mix about three tablespoons of black paint to have ready to use. To make black paint, mix roughly 60% blue and 40% brown together on your mixing palette.
Important: Whenever you mix black paint, or paint with black paint, it is critically important to use a brush that only has black in it (a mixture of blue and brown). So before attempting to mix some black paint you must first "clean" your brush thoroughly. The fastest and easiest way to clean a brush for black paint (pictured below) is to clean it with a small amount of black paint. Work your dirty brush into a small amount of black paint, then wipe the paint out of the brush with a paper towel before mixing the brush into a bit more fresh black paint. Repeat this a couple times (once may be enough) until you get a deep clean black that is not the slightest bit milky.
It's a good habit to keep a brush or two (one large, one small) that you will only use for black paint and nothing else. That way you don't have to clean your brush with black paint again.
Once you mix about three tablespoons of black paint, transfer the black paint you mixed from your mixing palette to your "finished colors" palette. Also paint a stripe of black paint on your mixing palette. You will use this later to help judge your steps (more on that later).
Before you start mixing colors you need to choose a "color group" to mix. Watch this video to learn more about color groups and how to choose them.
At the end of Step 2: "Choosing Your Subject" there is a section titled "Balancing Your Still-Life Light with Your Studio Light". It is absolutely critical that your lights are balanced correctly before you begin to check colors, so if necessary, please review the video in that section before continuing.
Once you have decided which color group to start with, you need to determine the darkest value in that color group. You will begin by mixing this darkest color, unless the darkest color is black, in which case you have should have already mixed it. Then paint a strip of this on your mixing palette somewhere.
Review the "Mixing Colors" video at the top of this page if you do not know how to begin mixing colors.
Note: If you are have any trouble at all with your color mixing, ask for help on the Draw Mix Paint Forum. Someone will be happy to help!
After you have mixed the darkest color in the color group, mix a color that is one step lighter in value than the darkest color. You will determine if your color is a good step by comparing it to the strip of paint you painted on your mixing palette (when you finished mixing your darkest step).
What is a good step? Below are some of the colors I mixed for my still life — I did not mix perfect steps and you don't need to mix perfect steps either. It is not critical that your steps are perfect, but do try to avoid making them too big or too small (this will make things easier for you later on when you begin to paint). Make note of what a good step looks like below.
Remember, you will always mix all the steps in every color group. Do not skip steps, even if you think a particular step is not in the color group — it is almost always there, though you may have to look really hard to find it. If you really explore by color checking throughout the color group, you will generally find every step.
Below is a color wheel that will be helpful. Use it as a reference while you mix colors.
If you think a color looks too "gray", that means it is too blue. If you think a color looks too "brown", that means it is too red or too orangey-red. Remember this when you are checking your colors. Often you will look at a color and see that your color is too gray or too brown… simply remember that "too gray" means "too blue", and "too brown" means "too red".
Mix a color on your mixing palette, making sure that it is at least a tablespoon or more of paint. Attempt to mix the color as best you can, but don't worry if you are unsure of what to mix — you will get there.
Once you have mixed a color, compare the color you have mixed with the stripe you painted of the previous color (the darker step before the one you are currently mixing). Ask yourself, "is this a good step?", and if the answer is no then darken your color or lighten it so that the step is about right. If the answer is yes, continue.
If the color you mixed is a good step, then check the color's tone. Do this by painting the color on your color checker and then comparing it to the color in the still life you are mixing the color for. Be very sure to hold your color checker where the value matches. This is very important — there is no point even looking at the color unless it is being compared to that spot where the value of the paint on your color checker is the same as the value of the color in your object. Once you are sure the value matches, then and only then do you judge the tone.
Which color is more red, the color on the color checker or the object?
Which color is more orange?
Which color is more yellow?
Which color is more green?
Which color is more blue?
Which color is more purple?
Make the adjustment to your color pile by adding the appropriate color. If your color needs to be more red, add red. On the other hand, if your color is too red, add the color on the opposite side of the color wheel (the opposite of red, for example, is green). Use your color wheel to guide you.
Once you have adjusted your color be very sure to re-check your step. Sometimes when you add color to adjust the tone, you will also inadvertently alter the value as well, so you will need to re-check your step by comparing it to your last color stripe. If the value needs adjusting then you will need to lighten it or darken it until your step is a good step. Once you have confirmed that it is a good step, then and only then re-check the tone with your color checker and ask yourself the six questions.
Repeat this process until you get a good color match. You are now ready to mix the next step in your color group.
Note: When you are mixing the darker colors, use burnt umber as your red instead of pyrrole rubine or permanent alizarin crimson. It is more opaque and easier to work with, and the colors you mix with burnt umber will blend better with other colors when you paint. Burnt umber is also much less expensive. Obviously there will be times when you must use pyrrole rubine or permanent alizarin crimson, especially when mixing strong reds (like red roses or red lipstick). Purples will also need pyrrole rubine or permanent alizarin crimson.
Note: In the video above I am working from life and am using a color checker. Because you are painting from a photograph, you will not be using a color checker. Instead, you will check your colors by simply painting small strokes of paint directly onto your laminated photograph. But other than that, the process is no different.
And here are the color groups I selected for the "yellow flowers" still-life.
Use the image above of my finished palette as a general reference for how to lay out your color. When you go through the color mixing process yourself you will come up with your own steps and colors. Your steps do not have to be perfect, just avoid making them way too big. If you make your steps too small, it only means you are doing more work than you need to.
If the color you mixed is a good step (value), then check the color's tone. Do this by painting a small spot of the color onto your photograph so you can compare the paint color and the photo color. Use plenty of paint, but not so much that you are painting blobs that stick out from the surface of the photo. This is very important — there is no point even looking at the color unless it is being compared to a spot where the value of your paint is the same as the value of the color in your object. So you will need to continue to put spots on your photo until you can see that your paint spot is the same value as the color in the photo. Once you are sure the value matches, then and only then do you judge the tone.
Once you have adjusted your color be very sure to re-check your step. Sometimes when you add color to adjust the tone, you will also inadvertently alter the value as well, so you will need to re-check your step by comparing it to your last color stripe. If the value needs adjusting then you will need to lighten it or darken it until your step is a good step. Once you have confirmed that it is a good step, then and only then re-check the tone by comparing your paint to the photograph and ask yourself the six questions.
Note: When you are mixing the darker colors, use burnt umber as your red instead of pyrrole rubine or permanent alizarin crimson. It is more opaque and easier to work with, and the colors you mix with burnt umber will blend better with other colors when you paint. Burnt umber is also much less expensive. Obviously there will be times when you must use pyrrole rubine (or permanent alizarin crimson), especially when mixing strong reds (like red roses or red lipstick). Purples will also need pyrrole rubine or permanent alizarin crimson.


text:
Tag Archives: Arturo Castellanos
Prisoner Human Rights Movement: Agreement to End Hostilities has changed the face of race relations without any help from CDCr
Posted on 1 February 2015 by Prisoner Human Rights Movement
In: SF Bay View, Jan. 28. 2015
It is incumbent upon all men prisoners across the state of California and globally to embrace the struggle of women prisoners as a whole. We, the four principle negotiators of our Prisoner Human Rights Movement – George Franco, Arturo Castellanos, Todd Ashker and Sitawa Nantambu Jamaa (Dewberry) – recognize the women prisoner struggles and the PHRM supports them. These other prisoner activists do as well: D. Troxell, L. Powell, A. Guillen, G. Huerta, P. Redd, R. Yandell, J.M. Perez, J. Baridi Williamson, A. Sandoval, P. Fortman, Y. Iyapo-I (Alexander), A. Yrigollen, F. Bermudez, F. Clement and R. Chavo Perez.
"The Agreement to End Hostilities" – Art: Michael D. Russell, C-90473, PBSP SHU D7-217, P.O. Box 7500, Crescent City CA 95532
These representatives, whom CDCr leading officials recognize as prisoner activists, are changing the face of race relationships within CDCr first, without any assistance from CDCr. Isn't that amazing! The above named prisoner activists, along with the thousands of other prisoner activists throughout the California prison system, have changed the way prisoners should be treated as human beings.
I encourage all men and women prisoners to continue to press onward with our Agreement to End Hostilities (AEH) through all corridors of state and county facilities.
Prisoners' era of retrospective study and constructive struggle
We are beacons of collective building while clearly understanding that we the beacons must take a protracted internal and external retrospective of our present day prisons' concrete conditions to forge our PHRM onward into the next stage of development, thereby exposing CDCr's racial discrimination and racist animus tactics against our prisoner class. This is why our lives must be embedded in determined human rights laws, based on our constructive development of our scientific methods and laws. Therefore, through our concrete conditions in each prison, our struggle shall be constructed through our Prisoner Human Rights Movement representatives and negotiators.
The PHRM has realized that CDCr has been setting up prisoners and creating racial tension among all racial groups, from various geographical locations up and down the state of California. It has become abundantly clear to the PHRM that Gov. Jerry Brown is an outspoken racist and overseer who has clearly shown that his discriminatory practices are directed at minorities and people of color: New Afrikan (Afrikan Amerikan), Mexicans (Latinos) and White working poor, who have all been suffering blatant discrimination in county jails and state prisons.
Gov. Brown went out and hired the most blatant racist prison superintendent in the U.S. as his secretary of corrections. Yes, CDCr Secretary Jeffrey Beard is continuing to torture, isolate, maim, racially assault, and racially, religiously and culturally discriminate against prisoners.
Gov. Brown and Secretary Beard are continuing their practices of long term solitary confinement. Now, it is a known fact that Gov. Brown and his personally appointed CDCr Secretary J. Beard do not want to STOP racial tension within the CDCr or the state of California as a whole, because if they did, the historical document, the Agreement to End Hostilities, would have been distributed by the CDCr to all women and men state prisoners, county jail prisoners, youth authority prisoners, juveniles, probationers and parolees throughout this state.
The Youth Justice League brought the Agreement to End Hostilities to the hood on the day it took effect, Oct. 10, 2012, at a rally in front of the LA County Jail. – Photo: Virginia Gutierrez
Since Oct. 10, 2012, when the Agreement to End Hostilities took effect, to the present day, California women and men prisoners' racial and cultural hostilities have decreased, without any assistance from Gov. Brown or his subordinate, Secretary of CDCr Jeffrey Beard. It is important that all citizens here in California and throughout the United States realize that Gov. Brown and Secretary Beard do not care about reducing the violence among prisoners, nor do they care about the safety and security of Californians who are not incarcerated.
Our civil rights are violated daily. We citizens realize that the safety and security of California prisoners and our neighborhoods throughout California will only come from the people, not from corrupt law enforcement agencies! Because we know that the majority of California law enforcement policies have been brutal to our inner city citizens – killing and maiming our family members – and that the brutality has been sanctioned by Gov. Brown and carried out by CDCr Secretary Beard et al behind California prison walls against all prisoners and especially Level 3 and 4 prisoners.
CEASE the human torture! CEASE the racial profiling, Gov. Brown and Secretary Beard!
I want everyone to know that I agree with my co-principle negotiators' articles in the October 2014 SF Bay View newspaper: 1) "California prisoner representatives: All people have the right to humane treatment with dignity" on page 5 and 2) "Unresolved hunger strike issues" on page 16. I want to encourage everyone to subscribe to this newspaper. It is the voice of all people!
To all U.S. citizens and the world community, support our Prisoner Human Rights Movement!
We are fighting for human justice. We are upholding the U.S. Constitution and California Constitution and the liberties therein, while establishing the freedoms that our ancestors struggled for over the past hundred years in California.
Determined to preserve our human lives and those of all prisoners within the state of California, we, the Prisoner Human Rights Movement, call on all citizens to get involved with social change now. In the course of our work, PHRM realizes that it is natural that we should meet opposition from CDCr, because of their ignorance and lack of knowledge manifested whenever CDCr ruthlessly deceives and deprives prisoners of our human rights and civil rights daily.
With the dawn of this new prison era, the Prisoners' Era of Retrospect and Construct, know what its essentials are; know its principles and strive to attain our goals and objectives in the truest sense of our Agreement to End Hostilities. We know what forced solitude causes: psychological and physical warfare, for prisoners and their outside family members as well.
Politically speaking, the world has changed and so have prisoners. Human progress means change, and today we need to prepare for a higher life, for tomorrow's liberty – educationally, socially and politically.
Determined to preserve our human lives and those of all prisoners within the state of California, we, the Prisoner Human Rights Movement, call on all citizens to get involved with social change now.
No one wants to be tortured, dehumanized, racially profiled, religiously profiled and viciously targeted by acts of sensory deprivation by Gov. Jerry Brown's state government and his California prison officials to implement the New Jim Crow, i.e., the Security Threat Group/Step Down Program (STG/SDP), which is actually criminal acts of torture by way of low intensity warfare. This is an act against all California citizens and humanity itself.
Our PHRM was threatened by CDCr officials and employees as we championed the cause of the Agreement to End Hostilities, and we thank God that our prisoner class did not fall prey to CDCr's threats to destroy our AEH across this state. Prisoners hold their destiny in the palm of their hands and we shall not allow any prison correctional officers, sergeants, lieutenants, captains, associate wardens, chief deputy wardens, wardens, the director of adult institutions, the undersecretary or the secretary or even Gov. Brown to destroy our faith in humanity. The Prisoner Human Rights Movement shall stand as ONE clenched fist in solidarity against CDCr oppression.
I want to make it clear that Gov. Brown and Secretary Beard operate with the mentality of Donald Tokowitz Sterling, the former Los Angeles Clipper's owner. Just review their policies, rules, laws and practices directed at all prisoners and their family members, relatives, friends and all citizens within this state.
We shall not allow even Gov. Brown to destroy our faith in humanity. The Prisoner Human Rights Movement shall stand as ONE clenched fist in solidarity against CDCr oppression.
Stand up against injustice. Stand up against racism. Stand up against sensory deprivation.
People, get involved in struggle!
Revolutionary love and respect!
Brutha Sitawa
Send our brother some love and light: Sitawa Nantambu Jamaa, s/n R.N. Dewberry, C-35671, 4B-7C-209, P.O. Box 1906, Tehachapi CA 93581.
Posted in 2015, Agreement to End Hostilities, Antonio Guillen, Arturo Castellanos, California, CDCr, CDCr against gang unity, George Franco, Human Rights, Jerry Brown, Pelican Bay Short Corridor Human Rights Movement, Pelican Bay State Prison, prisoner activists, Prisoner Human Rights Movement (PHRM), Prisoner Representatives, racism, Short Corridor Collective, Sitawa Nantambu Jamaa, STG (Security Threat Group), Todd Ashker, women prisoners	| Tagged Agreement to End All Hostilities, Antonio Guillen, Arturo Castellanos, CDCr, George Franco, Jeffrey Beard racist, Jerry Brown racist, Sitawa Nantambu Jamaa, Todd Ashker, women prisoners
California prisoner representatives: All people have the right to humane treatment with dignity
Main reps mark the first anniversary of suspension of the 2013 Hunger Strike and the second anniversary of the Agreement to End Hostilities
by Todd Ashker, Arturo Castellanos and George Franco
October 2nd, 2014, published in the SF Bay View
We expect to hear soon from Sitawa Nantambu Jamaa, the fourth of the main reps in the Pelican Bay SHU Short Corridor Collective Human Rights Movement. His remarks will be posted online as soon as they arrive and will be printed next month. He has been transferred to Tehachapi: C-35671, 4B-7C-209, P.O. Box 1906, Tehachapi CA 93581.
Greetings of solidarity and respect to all oppressed people and those committed to fighting for the fundamental right of all people to humane treatment – to dignity, respect and equality.
We are the prisoner class representatives of what's become known as the Pelican Bay State Prison SHU Short Corridor Collective Human Rights Movement. Last month we marked the first anniversary of the end of our historic 60-day Hunger Strike. Oct. 10 we mark the two-year anniversary of the Agreement to End Hostilities. This is an update on where things stand with our struggle to achieve major reforms beneficial to prisoners, outside loved ones and society in general.
Our Agreement to End Hostilities would enhance prison safety more than any long-term isolation policies and yet it still has not been circulated and posted throughout the prison system. We urge that everyone read this document again and that you pass it around, study it, live it. (It is reprinted below.) The California Department of Corrections has yet to post this historic document. It needs to.
In 2010 -2011, many long-term SHU prisoners housed in the PBSP SHU Short Corridor initiated our "collective human rights movement" based on our recognition that, regardless of color, we have all been condemned for decades, entombed in what are psycho-social extermination cells, based on prisoncrats' fascist mentality. That mentality is centered upon the growing oppressive agenda of the suppressive control of the working class poor and related prison industrial complex's expansion of supermax solitary confinement units.
The pretext for that expansion is baseless claims that solitary confinement is necessary for the subhuman "worst of the worst" deemed deserving of a long slow death in hellish conditions. Supermax units were originally designed and perfected for the purpose of destroying political prisoners and now extend to a policy of mass incarceration.
Beginning July 1, 2011, we have utilized our collective movement to resist and expose our decades of subjection to this systematic state torture, via a campaign of peaceful activism efforts inside and outside these dungeon walls. We have achieved some success; we are not finished.
Last month we marked the first anniversary of the end of our historic 60-day Hunger Strike. Oct. 10 we mark the two-year anniversary of the Agreement to End Hostilities.
We will not stop until there is no more widespread torturous isolation in California for ourselves and for those who will come after us. We remind all concerned that our third peaceful protest action was "suspended" after 60 days, on Sept. 6, 2013, in response to Assemblyman Ammiano and Sen. Hancock's courageous public acknowledgement of the legitimacy of our cause and related promises to hold joint hearings for the purpose of creating responsive legislation.
Hearings were held in October 2013 and February 2014 which were very positive for our cause in so far as continuing the public's exposure to CDCR's unjustifiable torture program. Assemblyman Ammiano's bill was responsive to our issues and it was thus no surprise that the CDCR and CCPOA (the guards' union) and others opposed it – and it was DOA on the Assembly floor. Sen. Hancock worked to get a bill passed with some changes, but, according to a statement she released, even that failed when the Governor's Office and CDCR gutted months of work by Sen. Hancock, her staff and the staff of the Senate Public Safety Committee.
California Department of Corrections has calculated that their alleged "new" policy known as Security Threat Group-Step Down Program (STG-SDP) will give the appearance of addressing the horrific inhuman treatment we experience daily. They argue the Step Down Program is a major positive reform of the "old" policy and thereby responsive to our core demands.
They hope to undermine the statewide, national and international growing support for our cause – the end of long-term indefinite solitary confinement, the torture we experience year in and year out.
We will not stop until there is no more widespread torturous isolation in California for ourselves and for those who will come after us.
The STG-SDP is a smokescreen intended to enable prisoncrats to greatly expand upon the numbers held in solitary confinement – indefinitely. Their STG-SDP policy and program is a handbook to be used with limitless discretion to put whoever they want in isolation even without dangerous or violent behavior.
Their Security Threat Group policy and language are based on a prison punishment international homeland security worldview. By militarizing everything, just as they did in Ferguson, Missouri, poor working class communities, especially those of color, become communities that feed the police-prison industrial complex as a source of fuel.
The daily existence of poor people is criminalized from youth on. We become a source of revenue – a source of jobs – as our lives are sucked, tracked into the hell of endless incarceration, our living death. The STG-SDP is part of the worldview and language of death, not life. It is not positive reform. Security Threat Group takes social policy in the wrong direction.
CDCR is explicit in that thousands of us are in indefinite solitary because of who we are seen to be by them, not because we have done anything wrong. They still decide this by our art, our photographs, birthdays and confidential informants who get out of solitary by accusing the rest of us.
The only "program" in the Step Down Program is a mandatory requirement to fill out meaningless journals that have nothing to do with rehabilitation – rather, they are about petty hoops for longterm SHU prisoners to jump through. The step incentives are so small as to carry very little real value or meaning for a majority of prisoners. They don't meet our Supplemental Demands.
In fact the SHU at Tehachapi, where they send Pelican Bay SHU prisoners who have "progressed" to "better steps" in the SDP, have less visiting, more filthy cells, horrible toxic water, no pillows, nasty mattresses, rags for cloths, used mattresses, loud noises and some officers who are brutal racists.
Some of the privilege opportunities we won for SHU prisoners as a result of our struggles exist only at Pelican Bay. Some mean a lot to us but, in the long view, are trivial.
We need to get rid of the "mandatory" aspect of the ridiculous journals. We need to touch our loved ones and they need to be touched by us. We need to hug our mothers, fathers, wives, children, brothers, sisters.
We need more packages and phone calls and photographs. We need the same canteen that general population gets. We need overnight family visits. Up until mid-1986, all SHU prisoners were allowed to receive contact visits.
Ultimately, we call for California to end the shame of their policy of solitary confinement for innocuous social interaction.
Prisoncrats propagate the 800-plus case-by-case reviews to date as evidence that their STG-SDP is a new program. The last statistics showed that almost 70 percent of prisoners reviewed were released to general population – including some of us who have been kept in these concrete boxes buried alive for decades.
These statistics prove something entirely different. They are factual data showing, proving that for decades 70-plus percent of us have been inappropriately confined, isolated and tortured.
It is CDCR's senior people who are ruling that we have been inappropriately confined. These high release statistics prove without a doubt that the force of public condemnation, of united peaceful activity by those of us inside and our human rights supporters outside are required to keep CDCR from continuing their intolerable abuse.
We call for California to end the shame of their policy of solitary confinement for innocuous social interaction.
CDC argues that the transfer of Pelican Bay SHU prisoners to other SHUs at Corcoran, New Folsom or Tehachapi SHU cells or to various general population prisons proves they have taken measures to address the horrors and inappropriate use of SHU. In fact, even with the large numbers of prisoners being transferred out of SHU cells, there are no empty SHU cells.
Across the system prisoners are being validated for art, innocuous social interaction and for lies and misrepresentations about our mail by confidential informants who escape the SHU themselves by accusing others of behavior that cannot be defended against because we are sent to the SHU for accusations that we do not know the specifics about!
We are isolated for confidential, uncorroborated "ghost" accusations with no due process review – because solitary isolation is categorized as an "administrative housing assignment" and not punishment. CDCR is filling up the SHU cells as fast as they are emptied.
CDCR administrators admitted in August 2011 that the programs and privileges sought in our demands were reasonable and should have been provided 20-plus years ago. Up until mid-1986, all SHU prisoners were allowed to receive contact visits, but no longer today. Why not?
CDCR hopes to destroy our sense of collective structure and our collective unity. We hope to expand our sense of collectivity as we spread out. We work to keep all opinions open, to think through new ideas and options for peaceful activity to shut down the reckless use of isolation and other abuses.
California uses solitary isolation more than any other state in the United States, both in absolute numbers of prisoners isolated – 12,000 in some form of isolation on any given day – and in terms of percentage of the prison population. The United States uses solitary confinement more than any other country in the world – 80,000 prisoners in some form of isolation as part of the practice of mass incarceration and criminalization of life in poor communities.
CDCr cannot deny these facts. Our decades of indefinite SHU confinement and related conditions therein are what led us to peacefully rise up and make our stand as a united collective of human beings – and we have been clear about our opposition to the Security Threat Group-Step Down Program. The prisoner class human rights movement is growing and we've succeeded in exposing this nation's penal system torture program – nationally and internationally.
This mainstream level of attention and global support for the prisoners' cause is unprecedented and it will continue to grow – so long as we all remain united and committed to doing our part.
Our peaceful actions have demonstrated that we are not powerless and the concrete fact is that the operation of these prisons requires the cooperation of the prisoners – thus, the prisoners do have the power to make beneficial reforms happen when we are united in utilizing non-violent, peaceful methods such as hunger strike-work stoppage protests and forms of non-cooperation.
We are thinking about how to extend this power peacefully across the prison system to make these institutions more focused on rehabilitation, learning and growing so that our return to our communities helps us all. Following and living by the principles in the Agreement to End Hostilities can help make this happen.
With the above in mind, we remind all interested parties that this ongoing struggle for reform is a "human rights movement," comprised of united prisoners, outside loved ones and supporters. The PBSP SHU Short Corridor Collective Human Rights Movement's 20 volunteer representatives remain united, committed and determined about achieving the Five Core and Forty Supplemental Demands and the principle goals of the August 2012 "Agreement to End Hostilities," with the support of all like-minded members of the prisoner class, outside loved ones and supporters.
Our primary goal remains that of ending long-term solitary confinement (in SHU and ad seg). This goal is at the heart of our struggle.
California uses solitary isolation more than any other state in the United States. The United States uses solitary confinement more than any other country in the world.
Along the way we are also committed to improving conditions in SHU, ad seg and general prison population. We make clear that any policy that maintains the status quo related to the placement and retention of prisoners into SHU and ad seg cells indefinitely is not acceptable – regardless of what programs or privileges are provided therein.
We have rejected CDCR's Security Threat Group-Step Down Program and presented our reasonable counter proposal for the creation of a modified general population type program for the purpose of successful transitions between SHU and general population. CDCR's top administrators have refused to negotiate, insisting upon moving forward with their STG-SDP. We are evaluating options.
Again, we need an end to the "mandatory" aspect of the ridiculous journals. We need to touch our loved ones and they need to be touched by us. Until mid-1986, all SHU prisoners were allowed to receive contact visits. There is no legitimate basis for not allowing them now.
We celebrate the brothers who are getting out of the SHU after decades of confinement and understand the willingness to participate in the current CDCr charade.
We recognize those brothers in Corcoran and others who are refusing to participate in the SDP.
We've patiently observed the political process at issue for the past year, since such was the basis for "suspending" our 2013 action, and it's becoming clear that those in power are still not seeing us as human because they refuse to end long term solitary confinement – in spite of international condemnation – ensuring the continuation of such psycho-social extermination policies.
Lawmakers' refusal to abolish indefinite solitary confinement in response to the established record of abuse and related damage it causes to prisoners, outside loved ones and society in general – supported by the record of the joint Public Safety Committee hearings – supports our position that we are subjected to systematic, state sanctioned torture. This is a permanent stain upon this nation's human rights record. Their continued refusal will require us to re-evaluate all of our available peaceful options.
Keeping all of the above points in mind, we respectfully encourage people inside and outside these walls to commemorate this two-year anniversary of the Agreement to End Hostilities by joining with us in living by these principles inside and outside these prison walls.
We remain united, onward in struggle, always in solidarity.
Todd Ashker, C-58191, PBSP SHU D4-121, P.O. Box 7500, Crescent City CA 95532
Arturo Castellanos, C-17275, PBSP SHU D1-121, P.O. Box 7500, Crescent City CA 95532
George Franco, D-46556, PBSP SHU D4-217, P.O. Box 7500, Crescent City CA 95532
To whom it may concern and all California prisoners:
Greetings from the entire PBSP SHU Short Corridor Hunger Strike Representatives. We are hereby presenting this mutual agreement on behalf of all racial groups here in the PBSP SHU Corridor. Wherein, we have arrived at a mutual agreement concerning the following points:
If we really want to bring about substantive meaningful changes to the CDCR system in a manner beneficial to all solid individuals who have never been broken by CDCR's torture tactics intended to coerce one to become a state informant via debriefing, now is the time for us to collectively seize this moment in time and put an end to more than 20-30 years of hostilities between our racial groups.
Therefore, beginning on Oct. 10, 2012, all hostilities between our racial groups in SHU, ad-seg, general population and county jails will officially cease. This means that from this date on, all racial group hostilities need to be at an end. And if personal issues arise between individuals, people need to do all they can to exhaust all diplomatic means to settle such disputes; do not allow personal, individual issues to escalate into racial group issues!
We also want to warn those in the general population that IGI (Institutional Gang Investigators) will continue to plant undercover Sensitive Needs Yard (SNY) debriefer "inmates" amongst the solid GP prisoners with orders from IGI to be informers, snitches, rats and obstructionists, in order to attempt to disrupt and undermine our collective groups' mutual understanding on issues intended for our mutual causes. People need to be aware and vigilant to such tactics and refuse to allow such IGI inmate snitches to create chaos and reignite hostilities amongst our racial groups. We can no longer play into IGI, ISU, (Investigative Service Unit), OCS (Office of Correctional Safety) and SSU's (Service Security Unit's) old manipulative divide and conquer tactics!
In conclusion, we must all hold strong to our mutual agreement from this point on and focus our time, attention and energy on mutual causes beneficial to all of us prisoners and our best interests. We can no longer allow CDCR to use us against each other for their benefit!
Because the reality is that, collectively, we are an empowered, mighty force that can positively change this entire corrupt system into a system that actually benefits prisoners and thereby the public as a whole, and we simply cannot allow CDCR and CCPOA, the prison guards' union, IGI, ISU, OCS and SSU to continue to get away with their constant form of progressive oppression and warehousing of tens of thousands of prisoners, including the 14,000-plus prisoners held in solitary confinement torture chambers – SHU and ad-seg units – for decades!
The reality is that, collectively, we are an empowered, mighty force that can positively change this entire corrupt system into a system that actually benefits prisoners and thereby the public as a whole.
We send our love and respect to all those of like mind and heart. Onward in struggle and solidarity!
Presented by the PBSP SHU Short Corridor Collective: Todd Ashker, Arturo Castellanos, Sitawa Nantambu Jamaa (Dewberry) and Antonio Guillen; and the Representatives Body: Danny Troxell, George Franco, Ronnie Yandell, Paul Redd, James Baridi Williamson, Alfred Sandoval, Louis Powell, Alex Yrigollen, Gabriel Huerta, Frank Clement, Raymond "Chavo" Perez and James Mario Perez
Editor's note: Long-time readers may be curious why George Franco has replaced Antonio Guillen as the Northerner among the four main reps. Franco was one of the original four-man group but was sent to Corcoran during the first hunger strike. When he returned to Pelican Bay, he was moved from the pod where decisions were made. Antonio then stepped in. An attorney working closely with the reps reports both exchanges were very friendly.
Posted in 2011 Hunger Strike, 2013 Hunger Strike, 2014, Agreement to End Hostilities, Anniversaries, Antonio Guillen, Arturo Castellanos, California, CDCr, George Franco, Human Rights, Letters from the Representatives, Pelican Bay Short Corridor Human Rights Movement, Pelican Bay State Prison, Prisoner Human Rights Movement (PHRM), Prisoner Representatives, Secure Housing Unit (SHU), Sitawa Nantambu Jamaa, solitary confinement, Todd Ashker, torture	| Tagged 2011 Hunger Strike, 2013 Hunger Strike, Agreement to End All Hostilities, anniversaries, Arturo Castellanos, authoritatianism, California tortures, CDCr, criminalization of poor people, cruel and unusual treatment, earning off poor people, Ferguson, George Franco, indefinite solitary confinement, inhumane treatment, lies by CDCr, meaningless journalling, militarization, Need for human touch, no programming, prisoncrats, Step Down Program (SDP), STG (Security Threat Group), Todd Ashker
Letter from Pelican Bay Prisoner Representatives to Members of the California State Assembly & Senate
Todd Ashker – CDCR # C58191
Arturo Castellano – CDCR # C17275
Sitawa Nantambu Jamaa R.N. Dewberry – CDCR # C35671
Antonio Guillen – CDCR # P81948
Dear Members of the California State Assembly and Senate:
We are writing to offer our position on the two bills pending before the Assembly and the Senate (SB 892 and AB 1652) dealing with the solitary confinement and gang validation policies of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).
We are California inmates who have been in solitary confinement for long periods of time, based on validation as alleged associates and members of prison gangs, rather than based on violent behavior. We undertook hunger strikes in 2011 and in 2013 in opposition of the CDCR's solitary confinement and gang validation practices as well as the inhumane conditions of CDCR's Security Housing Units (SHUs). Together with thousands of inmates, we expressed the following five core demands:
1) Individual accountability, rather than group punishment, indefinite SHU status, and restricted privileges;
2) Abolish debriefing policy and modify active/inactive gang status criteria;
3) Comply with U.S. Commission 2006 Recommendations regarding an end to long-term solitary confinement;
4) Provide adequate food; and,
5) Expand and provide constructive programming and privileges for indefinite SHU status inmates.
Having carefully reviewed and considered Assembly Bill 1652, introduced by Assembly member Tom Ammiano on February 11, 2014 as amended on April 3, 2014, and Senate Bill 892, introduced by Senate member Loni Hancock on January 13, 2014, as amended on March 18 and April 2, we wish to offer the following comments:
I. Discussion of Ammiano AB 1652:
AB 1652 addresses the very narrow but critical issue of eliminating CDCR's policy of placing prisoners in solitary confinement for gang validation, rather than for commission of a serious offense. We support AB 1652. At the same time, we recommend that the bill be amended to include the following three additional provisions:
a. During assessment for SHU placement, the use of testimony (whether or not confidential) of an in-custody informant should be corroborated by an independent source before being relied upon to place someone in a SHU. Corroboration cannot be based upon the testimony of another in-custody informant unless such in-custody informant obtained the information independently from the first in-custody informant and the information is not based on hearsay. This is essentially the same principle now applied in criminal court cases since 2011 (see Cal. Penal Code §1111.5).
b. An attorney-advocate should be made available (at no cost to the State) to inmates facing a sentence of more than 30 days in a SHU.
c. AB 1652 should implement provisions for increased oversight, studies, data collection, and reporting back to the Legislature on the SHU classification process, the mental and physical wellbeing of inmates in SHUs, and the reasons why SHU inmates are denied reentry into the general population. Senate member Hancock's SB 892 contains these provisions, which we recommend be included in AB 1652. Collecting and considering this data can lay the foundation for a future more comprehensive legislative evaluation of solitary confinement practices in California.
II. Discussion of Hancock SB 892:
Although SB 892 appears to seek to achieve comprehensive CDCR reform on the issue of solitary confinement, there are several provisions of the bill that will adopt inhumane and widely condemned practices into state law. We will only support SB 892 if it is amended to include three critically important items:
A) The bill should incorporate the language of AB 1652 (or similar language) which eliminates the use of gang validation and minor rule violations as a justification for placing inmates in SHUs. As it stands currently, SB 892 does not eliminate SHU assignment for mere gang association and it does not eliminate indeterminate SHU terms. This is a critical issue and one of our core demands. The nationwide trend is clearly not to place prisoners in segregated housing units for alleged gang association without accompanying serious rule violations. Numerous states have moved in this direction for public safety reasons, for humane reasons, and to cut costs. California should not move in the opposite direction.
B) As mentioned above, we recommend that language be added so that during assessment for SHU placement, the use of testimony (whether or not confidential) of an in-custody informant should be corroborated by an independent source before being relied upon to place someone in a SHU. Corroboration cannot be based upon the testimony of another in-custody informant unless such in-custody informant obtained the information independently from the first in-custody informant and the information is not based on hearsay. This is essentially the same principle now applied in criminal court cases since 2011 (see Cal. Penal Code §1111.5).
C) As mentioned above, we recommend that language be added so that an attorney-advocate should be made available (at no cost too the State) to inmates facing a sentence of more than 30 days in a SHU.
We do not believe that the range of provisions in SB 892 related to review by the Office of the Inspector General of cases in which SHU placement is based on the testimony of a confidential informant, the appointment of ombudsmen, the requirement for a daily face-to-face encounter with CDCR employees, the appointment of an "advocate" for an inmate being processed for SHU placement, or the Step Down Program in the bill will make any measurable difference in CDCR solitary confinement practices. The Inspector General is unlikely based upon review of a file to reverse decisions based on confidential informants. Ombudsmen will be of little value as long as inmates can be placed in SHUs for alleged gang association when they have engaged in no wrong-doing. "Face-to-face" encounters already happen almost every day when our food is served or a psych tech walks past our cells. Allowing an "advocate" to assist in the SHU assignment process will mean assignment of a guard who could care less about the result. And the proposed step-down program focuses on forcing prisoners to disavow alleged gang association or activities rather than on a behavior-based model considering whether the prisoner has violated rules while in the SHU. Despite these misguided and costly provisions in SB 892, we would support the bill if it is amended to include the provisions identified above.
However, the narrower and more focused (and less costly) AB 1652, particularly if amended as suggested above, would far better serve the public safety, prison security, and the humane treatment of prisoners. It's a first but critically important step in the direction of a rational and humane policy. Further legislation could be considered in the next legislative session after CDCR data is collected by the legislature. Thank you for considering our comments and suggestions.
Arturo Castellano
Sitawa Nantambu Jamaa R.N. Dewberry
Posted in 2014, Antonio Guillen, Arturo Castellanos, CA Legislature, California, CDCr, letters, Letters from the Representatives, Pelican Bay Short Corridor Human Rights Movement, Pelican Bay State Prison, Prisoner Human Rights Movement, Prisoner Representatives, Secure Housing Unit (SHU), Sitawa Nantambu Jamaa, solitary confinement, Todd Ashker, torture	| Tagged 2014, Antonio Guillen, Arturo Castellanos, Assembly Bill 1652, California, gang validation policies, Letters from the Representatives, Loni Hancock, Representatives Body Pelican Bay State Prison, Senate Bill 892, Sitawa Nantambu Jamaa, Todd Ashker, Tom Ammiano
Arturo Castellanos' Two Reports
This was originally published in California Prison Focus of Spring 2014., p. 8 and 12.
#1 March 3, 2014 [note 1]
I'm one of the four main SHU reps here at PBSP. I'm writing this brief one on the positive outcomes during our meetings with Sacramento and PBSP offi cials since the end of our last hunger strike. They have been pretty straight forward with us on many issues concerning the possession of personal property and visiting—we have the three hour visits we demanded and Sac officials have completed— and Sac officials have issued the Authorized Personal Property Schedules [APPS] Matrix that allow all SHU male and female prisoners the opportunity to order and possess a lot more personal property items that we demanded and have not been allowed since before 1989.
However, at our last meeting with Sac officials, we did raise some issues with the new APPS. We were assured that they are going to tweak it where, for example, they were going to remove the wording "clear-case" ear buds and "clear-case" AC adaptors and adding the necessary electronic accessories to it even though they are automatically implied on the Matrix. And to change the allowable 15.5" flat screen TV to under 16"— Walkenhorsts vendor provides a good quality 15.6 inch RCA flat screen TV—which is good for the aging prison population.
These and other additional changes to the Apps are very important to us because, even if the prison wardens approve certain items, the approved vendors will not send them unless they are approved on the Matrix or Sac officials send them a memorandum on it. Sac also stated they will review the Apps once a year to stay current.
On Feb 20, 2014, we reps also attended the second quarterly meeting with this administration, since the last H.S. regarding issues pertaining to this prison. The memos of that meeting should be issued soon. They did address all the issues and concerns we raised, and those that other SHU and Ad Seg prisoners sent them. [Note: if PBSP-SHU/Ad Seg prisoners wish to have their local issues addressed at the next May/June meeting, send them to the SHU Associate Warden's office or to this publication in early May 2014.]
The following are just some of the many issues raised at this meeting: they are working on obtaining better quality mattresses; they did issue us three white towels and a half blue towel to keep our cell clean; the prison's bakery had been reopened and is producing better baked goods; the loaner recreational book program will soon be operational again; the state is issuing incoming Ad/Seg prisoners a crank-windup-radio for the first 21 days to use. And if a prisoner stays longer, they can hold on to it as long as another new arrival doesn't need one. We argued that enough of them should be purchased for all Ad/Seg prisoners for their entire stay in Ad/Seg or allow them to purchase and possess their own crank radio until they finish installing the electrical outlets, cables and shelves. Still, this is a great improvement in Ad/Seg from last Sept. 2013 and 2011 when we were there.
This administration has also agreed to implement a procedure to remove all speakers from all new incoming radios, and, as long as the AC-adapter works on the radio we order, those non-clear AC-adapters will be allowed here. Of course, as stated, the vendors will not send them unless Sac directs them to. Also, canteen items list for all SHUs has been expanded and will continue to expand in the future, and we are pushing/requesting they expand the canteen electronic accessories [e.g., typewriter ribbons, etc., T-antenna and matching transformers to hook up the T-antenna; flat digital antenna and antenna adapters; Y adapters; ear bud extension cords; L-cable hookups, etc.; and some Sony/Panasonic ear buds.]
As one can see above, I chose to focus on the cooperation we have received from Sac officials and PBSP's new administration on just the "tangible" items that do effect every SHU prisoner. So the efforts of all prisoners have not been in vain. This is also so other prisoners can address similar issues with their prison's administrators, for example, extended visits.
However, I will take some parting shots at the STG-SDP. Besides the statement we reps put out for the latest joint Senate/Assembly hearings, we strong object to CDCR deleting the word "direct" from the "Direct-Nexus" to gang activity because it now makes it a lot easier for IGI, ISU, and other alphabet bricks that make up the green wall to obtain make-believe statements from their debriefer-informantslaves to continue to bounce any CDCR prisoners between steps 1 through 4 and back. Thus, another main reason we reps pushed so hard for the additional tangible SHU property items.
Also, the SDP should only be behavior based, not on how many Journal-Loops one can jump through. All prisoners and outside supporters pushed to get rid of the requirement of signing contracts; now we need to push to get rid of these silly Journals. And, until we see how this plays out, our hopes remain on the present civil suit on solitary confinement and the new bills that are being pushed to put a cap on the amount of time we spend in solitary confinement.
That will also do away with the need for any revolving door program like SDP.
I personally feel that, right now, on the SDP itself, until it's changed or eliminated altogether by law or court, it should be up to each individual if they wish to go through the DRB [Departmental Review Board] hearings. I myself will go in April, even though I expect to be placed on step 1, behind all the countless 1030s [informants] in my file. Most here on the short corridor are being placed in 1 or 2. And those that have serious chronic illnesses are being sent to New Folsom, no matter the step they're placed in. I have no illness so I'll remain here. And, so far, some are also being placed on steps 3 or 4.
Finally, I wish to correct some misconception on the origins of the STG-SDP. It did not originate from our hunger
strikes. CDCR has had it on the back burner as a result of the Castillo case. The hunger strikes only forced CDCR to put it on the table a lot sooner than they planned. So, no one should try to lay that program's origins at the hunger strikers' feet, period!
#2 March 23, 2014
I write this to update you on the two issues I addressed in my last letter of March 3, 2014. First, on the positive cooperation we received from this new administration and second, on the DRB hearings. Regarding the first issue, it has now been over 30 days since we had attended the meeting of February 20th with the administration but yet, to date, they have not issued copies of any of the promised memos to all the SHU buildings, or of what transpired at that meeting.
Also, I mentioned in my last letter that the prison's bakery was up and running and that they were sending us better baked goods. Well, by the evidence so far, it gives the appearance that leading up to that meeting of Feb. 20th, we were seeing good size pieces of cake—with frosting, biscuits, dinner and breakfast rolls, and cornbread on the trays. But, soon after I sent that letter out, the baked goods got smaller, cakes no longer had frosting, or stopped being served to us at all, and the so-called fruit-crisp is now just gook without the crisp. It's almost as though the baker was fired soon after that meeting and replaced with someone that doesn't know what the hell they are doing. I just hope the promised food surveys were issued to the two volunteer reps so this administration can get feedback from them on this and the rest of the continual served slop. I feel for those of you who do not have the funds to purchase canteen items to supplement this food. I can go on with this issue
but I'm sure this administration has gotten the point that we will point out the positive—like my last letter—as well as the negative in this letter.
On the second issue, the DRB hearings for the short-corridor and others from both C and D facilities, in my last letter I was told the next ones will be held in April. Now they're saying May of 2014, and will be held every other month. To date they have seen the fi rst 25. In May, they are supposed to see those numbered from 26 through 50, maybe more, because they recently added another 50 to the list numbered from 51 through 100. If any of you believe you are on this list you can contact CCIT Ms. Perez or Ms. Vargas.
Now, the following is very important: Some names and addresses of attorneys will be placed at the end of this letter [note 1A] that should be contacted by those at PBSP-SHU when they are first placed on these lists—your number on it—when the CCIT issues you the 1030s [confidential information] that the DRB members will be using at the hearing. If possible, give the CCIT, at that time, a signed trust to make a second copy of them to send to the attorneys. Take notes as to what transpires at your DRB hearing [i.e., what step, etc.] and your issues/complaints why you object to any part of that process. And, if possible, file any writ on those issues—
according to Title 15, section 3376.1. Issues raised at those hearings are fully exhausted at the Directors level. One does not go through the CDCR 602 appeal process on this.
All of this vital info is important so the attorneys in our—all SHU prisoners—pending civil suit on solitary confinement. The attorneys can use it to effectively counter any motions for dismissal or summary judgment the U.S. attorney general files later. This info is greatly appreciated and the attorneys assured us that they will keep any materials confi dential.
Also, be sure that when you are placed on a step, you stay in touch with the attorneys so they can monitor your progress [i.e., bounced from step to step and back, etc.] It is also important for the rest of the SHU prison populations across CDCR that you send a general letter to these publications of what transpired at those hearings so they can be informed as to what to expect when they go before the DRB.
Finally, some that were placed in steps 3 and 4 were advised that Tehachapi level IV was closing the G.P. and were going to be used for those two steps. If this is true—and it's a big if—CDCR shouldn't have a problem in giving those on step 3 and 4 contact visits. The resources and visiting cronos are already in place. [note 2]
Arturo Castellanos #C-17275
[address from 2014]
PBSP-SHU, D1-121
[Note 1.] While this portion of the document was written in early March, it was not received by your [CPF] editor until early April.
[Note 1A] There were no names or addresses of attorneys at the end of this letter, only a note asking outside people to provide said contact information. Those who forwarded the letter to me, up here in Seattle, neglected to provide the contact information for the attorneys.
[Note 2.] There were thirteen pages consisting of copies of memos, etc. that were attached to Mr. Castellanos' letter but are not included here due to space considerations.
Posted in 2014, Articles by Representatives, Arturo Castellanos, Pelican Bay State Prison, Prisoner Representatives, Secure Housing Unit (SHU), Step Down Program (SDP), STG (Security Threat Group)	| Tagged 2014, Arturo Castellanos, CDCr, Direct-Nexus, DRB (Departmental Review Board), DRB Hearings, food in PBSP, meaningless journalling, Meetings, PBSP-SHU, Pelican Bay SHU, prisoner meetings with administration, Prisoner Representatives, Step Down Program (SDP), STG (Security Threat Group)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Games BAFTAs to be broadcast live
March ceremony to be streamed.
News by Johnny Minkley Contributor
Updated on 6 Jan 2010
BAFTA has confirmed to our sister site GamesIndustry.biz that this year's Games Awards will be broadcast live over the Internet.
Viewers will be able to watch the ceremony, taking place on 19th March, via the websites of BAFTA and Awards sponsor GAME.
In a statement released to GI.biz this afternoon, Kelly Smith, BAFTA's Head of Videogames, said: "In a first for a BAFTA Awards ceremony, this year's GAME British Academy Video Games Awards will be streamed live, broadcasting on both the BAFTA and GAME websites on Friday, March 19.
"The decision to stream the Awards was made by the BAFTA Video Games Committee with the aim of reaching the maximum audience of videogame fans and therefore further promoting the creative work of the industry as widely as possible. More details about the Awards will be announced shortly."
Jury panels to determine the winners of this year's awards, due to be held at London's Hilton Park Lane, convene later this month.
Johnny Minkley
Johnny Minkley is a veteran games writer and broadcaster, former editor of Eurogamer TV, VP of gaming charity SpecialEffect, and hopeless social media addict.


text:
@interface YJFirstViewController () <YJTableViewCellProtocol>

@property (weak, nonatomic) IBOutlet UITableView *tableView;

// 需要强引用
@property (nonatomic, strong) YJTableViewDataSource *dataSourcePlain;

@end

@implementation YJFirstViewController

- (void)viewDidLoad {
    [super viewDidLoad];

    self.dataSourcePlain = [[YJTableViewDataSource alloc] initWithTableView:self.tableView];

    //    [self test1];
    //    [self test2];
    //    [self test3];
    //    [self test4];
    [self test5];
}

#pragma mark - 测试数据
- (void)initTestData {

    // 测试数据
    for (int i=0; i<10; i++) {
        // 封装模型
        YJTableViewCellModel *cellModel = [[YJTableViewCellModel alloc] init];
        cellModel.userName = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"阳君-%d", i];
        // 封装CellObject
        YJTableCellObject *cellObject = [YJTableViewCell cellObjectWithCellModel:cellModel];
        // 填充数据源
        [self.dataSourcePlain.dataSource addObject:cellObject];
    }

}

#pragma mark - 使用默认的YJTableCellObject
- (void)test1 {
    [self initTestData];
}

#pragma mark - 使用自定义的YJTableViewCellObject
- (void)test2 {
    // 测试数据
    for (int i=0; i<20; i++) {
        // 封装模型
        YJTableViewCellModel *cellModel = [[YJTableViewCellModel alloc] init];
        cellModel.userName = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"阳君-%d", i];
        // 封装CellObject
        YJTableViewCellObject *cellObject = [[YJTableViewCellObject alloc] init];
        cellObject.cellModel = cellModel;
        // 填充数据源
        [self.dataSourcePlain.dataSource addObject:cellObject];
    }
}

#pragma mark - 通过协议监听点击dell
- (void)test3 {
    self.dataSourcePlain.tableViewDelegate.cellDelegate = self;
    [self initTestData];
}

#pragma mark YJTableViewDelegateProtocol
- (void)tableViewDidSelectCellWithCellObject:(YJTableCellObject *)cellObject tableViewCell:(UITableViewCell *)cell {
    NSLog(@"%@", NSStringFromSelector(_cmd));
}

#pragma mark - 通过block监听点击dell
- (void)test4 {
    self.dataSourcePlain.tableViewDelegate.cellBlock = ^(YJTableCellObject *cellObject, UITableViewCell *tableViewCell) {
        NSLog(@"%@", cellObject.indexPath);
    };
    [self initTestData];
}

#pragma mark - 悬浮测试
- (void)test5 {
    // 测试数据
    for (int i=0; i<150; i++) {
        // 封装模型
        YJTableViewCellModel *cellModel = [[YJTableViewCellModel alloc] init];
        cellModel.userName = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"阳君-%d", i];
        // 封装CellObject
        YJTableCellObject *cellObject = [YJTableViewCell cellObjectWithCellModel:cellModel];
        cellObject.suspensionThroughout = i%20 == 0;
        cellObject.suspension = i%10 == 0;
        // 填充数据源
        [self.dataSourcePlain.dataSource addObject:cellObject];
    }
}

@end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


I just turned twenty last month and want to know what else I can do for the sake of financial security. I have a savings plans with ING Direct, but I always see people saying "If I had started doing (blank) when I was twenty, I would be financially secure right now!" How do I learn how to invest, or where, or what into? What should I know about credit cards and banks? Is it good to be in a little bit of debt (with regards to credit cards) for the sake of good credit?
It sounds like you have a ton of questions and don't know where to start, but at the same time, it sounds like you also have a level head about money.
If I were you, I'd put aside an hour of your time a day for a few weeks and read two books – one well-rounded personal finance book and one book on investing.
My suggestions? For the first one, there are a lot of good general personal finance books out there. Just pick the one tailored to where you're at in life. If you're in college, Please Send Money by Dara Duguay is pretty strong. Just go to the personal finance section of a bookstore and browse a little – and find one that fits.
For investing, though, I have one straight-up suggestion – read The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing by Larimore, Lindauer, and LeBoeuf. It's the best all-around guide on investing that I've ever read, and is a great complement to any more general personal finance book.
Do you think that committing to a blogging schedule out of passion, despite the fact that it promises no immediate revenue streams, to be a productive step? Can I have the expectation that I as continue, I may encounter more opportunities for income than I can see at this moment? How have you experienced the growth of income-creating opportunities on your own blog? How have you best determined how to streamline your interest with insights that your readers will ultimately pay to enjoy?
If it's borne out of passion, committing to a schedule is a productive step, but not for the reasons you're looking at here.
If you're passionate about something, blogging gives you a powerful method to talk about it. You're able to share what you discover. You're able to explore your ideas. You're able to grow in that passion.
Setting a schedule, in a way, makes you accountable to that conversation. People will be more likely to read if you consistently and regularly engage in conversation with them. Think about your friends – the ones you call every day or every week are much more likely to engage you than the ones you call every once in a while when you feel like it.
However, you immediately jump to the "income-generating" conclusion. If you're committing to a schedule under the belief that such a schedule will lead you directly to money, you're most likely going to be severely disappointed.
If money is the goal of your blogging pursuits, you will fail. I'm not saying that it's stupid to try to earn money from blogging – it's not. But if you're in a situation where you would stop blogging if the money dried up, the blogging isn't really your passion – and it'll come through in what you're doing.
I have about $10K sitting in bank and I feel I should do something about it. Since I do not have Roth IRA account, I plan on spending $5K (max) to invest on Roth IRA. But I am struggling to find ways to invest remaining $5K. I really do not want to invest in stocks, 401K or mutual funds – I have lost quite a bit of money on all these last few yrs nor I have time to do research. Ideally I would like to invest where there is atleast 5-6% return. Pls advice.
So, you want a 5-6% return right now without risk? You and the rest of the world, buddy.
Here's the problem. To get a significantly larger return than you would get in a savings account or a treasury note (the most risk-free options, which both currently return at most about 3%), you have to take on risk.
No investment is a guarantee, not even the treasury notes (but they're as close to a guarantee as you'll find). When you start seeking higher and higher returns, the risk gets higher and higher.
Stocks and real estate are two areas where you can almost always get a 5-6% return over the long haul. Over the short haul, though, it's basically a gamble.
If you could accomplish one goal with The Simple Dollar in the next year, what would it be?
I have five one-year goals that I set for myself on June 1 of this year, which means I want to accomplish them by June 1 of next year.
100,000 email/feed subscribers I'm currently just a hair over 60,000. The way to do this is to just keep writing good stuff and make sure at least some of it is welcoming to new readers. If you want to help with this, the best way is to simply send interesting articles you see to your friends.
25,000 Twitter followers I currently have around 4,400 followers, but I've just now started paying strong attention to Twitter. I think I just finally realized how useful it can be for generating conversation. How can I get to that huge goal? Again, I just need to keep putting useful stuff on Twitter.
Second book finished I have a pretty strong outline and drafts of a few chapters. I'm hoping to have a complete strong first draft done in September or so, then let it "rest" for a month, then revise it.
6 more "downloadables" I have a big stack of requested downloadables that people want me to make – it's just a matter of putting aside the time to get them done.
One final thing… There's a final goal I have that I'm not going to share quite yet, but I think it's pretty cool. I think it'll serve as a resource for a lot of people out there.
Some of us have put in a lot of time constructively correcting Trent's posts in the past. Here he is pretending he does not actually make mistakes; rather, he deliberately portrays one side of a controversy to generate discussion. That's why errors was in quote – he doesn't actually think we're pointing out real errors, or at least that there's no such thing as an erroneous opinion. We're a little frustrated.
I write a lot of articles where I address only one or two facets of a many-faceted situation – usually, the ones that interest me or that I know would be really relevant to a reader that has contacted me recently. Most of what you actually see on The Simple Dollar is actually reader-driven – I try hard to match post ideas to what people tell me that they are going through or they want to hear about.
I assume that in the comments people will delve into those other uncovered angles because those other angles are the ones that interest them. What I find amusing is that many such comments accuse me of "errors." They're usually not errors – they're just not issues I find interesting to talk about or I choose not to talk about to keep the article reasonably simple – after all, this is The Simple Dollar. If you want The Overly Complicated Dollar, go elsewhere.
Yes, I make real errors. I make a lot of them. But choosing to cut out a point because I think it would cause an article to drag out too long isn't an error – it's an editorial decision to make the site more readable and useful to more people. Again, simple.
If I actually wrote about every angle of a complicated issue, I would be writing a book, most of which would not be interesting to you, and something that only a handful of people would bother to read and comment on anyway. That's not the point of a blog, where the purpose is to generate discussion. I'd far rather get people to think about an issue in a new way or pick up a new useful tip.
Many of my posts are already long enough.
So, if you think I've made a big error by omitting something, by all means, call me on it. I welcome it, as long as it doesn't devolve into personal attacks on me or on another commenter. We all come here to learn, not to hate.
While QuickBooks simple start is def cheaper than the full out Pro version, normally, often times you can get the Pro version for $100 if not less (watch for coupons at various sites) and lately Staples has been throwing in a nice bundle of extra free software which you might or might not use (can always flip it on craigslist or ebay) so don't rule out the higher end versions just because they seem cheaper at one time.
The big reason why I tend to point people towards QuickBooks Simple Start Free Edition is because it allows people to essentially try out QuickBooks for free and see if it matches their needs. If it doesn't – no investment lost other than the time. If it does, then the upgrade path to a full version of QuickBooks is perfect.
I actually think all software companies should use this type of technique to sell their software – and more and more are moving to it all the time. For example, the free Quicken Online seems to do just that – it's a mostly full-featured version of Quicken, but the desktop versions seem to have a fair bit more gas in the tank.
If there's a free option for the software you want to use, try it out.
How does one justify the cost of a house, insurance, property taxes, and maintenance these days? I understand that equity is built but it seems (without running though the numbers) that you're really paying for a house 3 times over once all the interest is factored in. Add all the previously mentioned expenses and it seems like renting comes out ahead.
For many people, renting does come out ahead. Buying a house only comes out ahead if (a) you have a need for a lot of living space (i.e., you have multiple children) since large houses have huge rental expenses and (b) you plan on staying put for a long time -or- you have the cost of the house ready to go in cash.
If you're single and just want a small house, you might be able to find something that's cost effective by hitting foreclosure sales – that's how my sister-in-law did it. However, my experience has been that family homes in good condition are few and far between at local auctions and the ones that do appear are bid up like crazy.
So, if you're single or married without children and plan to at least keep your location options open, I think renting is likely the best option. Neither renting nor owning is the best choice for everyone.
I have a question: Is it really cheaper to sew your own clothes, or your children's clothes, rather than buying them?
It depends on your skills with a sewing machine and the cost and quality of the materials you can get.
A person who has never used a sewing machine or never assembled clothes before will likely wreck quite a few items before making something worthwhile. In other words, there's a pretty nice sunk cost of time and materials before you get up to speed.
Now, if you're a skilled sewer and have access to lots of good material, you certainly can make very nice clothes for little cost, and often do it in the evenings while watching a movie or something. It's just not as simple as sitting down and starting, though – it takes some skill, and that takes time to build.
My wife has the skill to do this. She's made stuffed animals and doll's clothes for our children and has made a few shirts. Her problem is that she gets burnt out – she'll get really into sewing for a few weeks and make several things, then she gets tired of it.
On another blog (which I will not name since they do not deserve to get traffic for this type of content), a writer talked about obese people in the workforce, and how they would not work with them/hire them. They went on to make some claim that overweight people were less effective than normal-weight people. From a legal standpoint, isn't it illegal to say something like that? Can an employer not hire you even though you are qualified for the job simply for weighing more than they judge normal? Also, what is your opinion on that?
Obesity (unless it's caused by a demonstrable condition) is not covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Given that one's physical fitness can certainly be a criteria for many jobs, I understand how obesity can be used as a hiring factor. If you're hiring a crew to build a house, for example, a physically fit person will have more utility than an obese person.
Having said that, I think "overweight people were less effective than normal-weight people" is a pretty ignorant blanket statement. Many people that are extremely skilled at white collar work are overweight, largely because of the sedentary nature of the work. Is this person actually going to claim that Lee Raymond, long-time CEO of Exxon who built the company into the behemoth it is, was less effective than other options?
You hire the best person for the job. A person's weight might have something to do with their effectiveness at manual labor, but it often has very little to do with your effectiveness at white collar work.
Is that really your voice on the podcast or video? Are you using some kind of voice modifier?
Nope, that's my real voice. It's low, I know, but I think it's fairly expected. I'm six and a half feet tall, wear size 17 shoes, and a size 15 ring. My voice box is similarly sized, I think.
What I'd really like to work on isn't the sound of my voice, per se, but my ability to speak in a way that holds attention. I'm currently working on that.
Got a question of your own? Ask it in the comments, and I may address it in a future mailbag!


text:
U.S. IN VENEZUELA: IS STARVATION A WEAPON OF 'REGIME CHANGE?'
SOURCE: DEEPSTATEBLOG.ORG
The United States is seeking to shut down Venezuela's emergency food aid program, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The stated goal of U.S. policy is combating the corruption of the Venezuelan government. The unstated reality is that the Trump administration is doing exactly what it accuses the Maduro government of doing: weaponizing access to food.
The emergency food program—known by its Spanish initials, CLAP—is the main food source for an estimated 15% of Venezuelans and a critical supplement for a far larger percentage of the population. Officials in the Maduro government, including top military brass, "are using the CLAP program to steal from it, launder money, and for political control," the senior Treasury official said. "Corrupt Maduro continue to seek illicit revenue streams, even as the Venezuelan people and economy sink deeper into despair," said another senior Treasury official, Sigal Mandelker, the undersecretary for sanctions.
One neighbor in a major housing community, Carmen Requena, showed me the latest CLAP monthly box she received. An architect, she lives alone. Her box contained six pounds of rice, six pounds of black beans, two pounds of lentils, two liter bottles of oil, two bags of milk, 2.2 pounds of sugar, 10 pounds of corn flour, the essential ingredients of arepas, mayonnaise, catsup, two cans of tuna fish.
That's not a lot to live on. By sanctioning CLAP officials, the new U.S. policy will, by design, deny food to Venezuelans like Carmen Requena. With Venezuelans already suffering record-levels of malnutrition, famine is a looming possibility.
Weaponizing food, and taking it away from people who really need it to survive, is a really nasty way of attempting to create regime change in Caracas.
In fact, such actions can be described as war crimes against a civilian population.
And right now, the Unhinged, surveilled, State of Amerika, takes the prize for war crimes in the 21st century; against Yemeni kids; Libyan kids; Iraqi kids; Venezuelan kids; and places about which we don't know all over the planet.
To understand that your government is sponsoring war crimes, all around the world, is a very difficult place to which one has to come, in taking this all in.
I, for one, am very frustrated with this government, for having the dubious distinction, of being the #1 perpetrator of war crimes on this planet.
And folks, one of two things will happen because of this; the US government will either have a soviet-style collapse, or start a world war which will devastate the entire planet.
COVER-UP/DECEPTIONS/PROPAGANDA
SOUTH/CENTRAL AMERICA
A Massive Amount of Hurricane Relief Supplies Discovered in Puerto Rico Warehouse - Government official ousted
Black Gun Owners Show Up at Virginia 2A Rally — Shatter Media's 'White Supremacy' Narrative
by: Ethan Allen and...
Florida Teacher In Danger of Losing His Job Because He Uses Medical Marijuana
Media Offers Thoughts And Prayers That Someone Would Start Some Violence At Gun Rights Rally


Technology Needs to be Strategic!
* Help direct your technology to match your company's strategic direction.
Server and service monitoring – We will monitor critical systems and get alerts of any issues. We can fix most issues before you or your customers ever notice.
Network Monitoring – We monitor network health keeping your network safe as well as fixing issues before they become potential problems.
We work with technology partners to provide on-site support for most IT related issues while still giving you a simple point of contact for all IT related issues.
You can use on-site support on an as-needed basis or have it included with our Gold level of support.
All tech issues come to one place: phones, servers, desktop, printer, email, software, etc.
You won't have to juggle multiple support issues and contacts.
Bronze – Remote computer and phone support M-F 9-5PM. On-site or Emergency tech support provided at additional cost.
Silver – Bronze support with added weekend and after hours support.
Gold – Bronze and Silver level support with added on-site visits included. This will also include scheduled maintenance visit.
We offer on-site training in multiple technologies and can create custom materials based on your needs.
We are one of the best Information Technology(IT) Services Provider in Texas .
Having more than 15 years Experience in Information Technology (IT) Services. We currently serve small-medium scale Organisations as well as fortune 500.
a free onsite IT evaluation.


BDB Development Enterprise Corporation is a practicing in New York, New York. This Contractor is listed on All contractors & builders with a speciality in Building & Home Construction.
BDB Development Enterprise Corporation is listed under Building & Home Construction in New York, New York .
There's currently no information available about fees or price range charged by BDB Development Enterprise Corporation.
The information below about BDB Development Enterprise Corporation is optional and only visible if provided by the owner. Call (212) 732-5711 to learn more.
Contact BDB Development Enterprise Corporation to find out about hours of operation / office hours / business hours.
Listed hours are general only. Call (212) 732-5711 to learn about office hours.


text:
Home / Reviews / Middle Grade Readers / A Clock of Stars: The Shadow Moth
A Clock of Stars: The Shadow Moth
By Francesca Gibbons
Illustrated by Chris Riddell
Welcome to a brilliant new voice in middle grade fantasy fiction. Francesca Gibbons' debut A Clock of Stars is the first in a trilogy titled The Shadow Moth. It is brimming with magic, humour and original characters not to mention illustrations by world famous artist and former Children's Laureate Chris Riddell. It has all the qualities to make it a classic.
Twelve year old Imogen and her sometimes irritating young sister, Marie, follow a strange silver moth through a door in a tree and find themselves in a kingdom beset with evil. The city is invaded by savage creatures as soon as it is dark. Although the two girls sort of enjoy a brief stay in this strange but fascinating new world, Imogen is keen to get home, but the way back is uncertain and dangerous. They are helped by the spoiled prince of the kingdom, Miro, who actually needs help himself, and a richly imagined gallery of people and creatures.
It is always refreshing to find a writer who has a different take on things. While elements in this book are familiar fantasy tropes Francesca has the flair and imagination to keep the reader guessing. This book is long, 496 pages but the story is so enticing and inventive that you just gallop through it. As well as being funny it is heartwarming – the two sisters have very realistic relationship that anyone with a sibling will recognize. The villain is a masterpiece of selfishness and there is plenty of action and reaction to carry the story along.
The moth is the heart of the mystery and all is not resolved by the end of this volume although there is a satisfactory resolution to various mysteries. Readers will readily invest in the three appealing characters Imogen, Marie and Miro and look forward to their further adventures.
HarperCollins Australia 2020
Fantasy • Magic - fiction • Moths - fiction • Princes - fiction • Sisters - fiction
Frankie Best Hates Quests
The Great Fox Illusion
Cursed Tales: The Pharaoh of Asco Express


The Q/A was followed by a book signing where we all got the chance to chat to Cath one on one and she was absolutely lovely! We were also treated to a Lebanese buffet, yum. I don't think I have ever had the pleasure of tasting Lebanese food before but I am now hooked as it was absolutely delicious. And yes, I went back for seconds.
The evening also provided us with the great opportunity to chat to other bloggers and book lovers and when we left we were even given a bag full of criminal goodies! I'm particularly looking forward to reading 'I Am Pilgrim' and will report back here when I've finished it.
Many thanks to Yewande, September, Rachel and everyone else at Transworld who made this such a fab event!
Are you saying mingling with book lovers and eating cupcakes isn't hard work? ;) Thanks very much for reading and leaving a comment, I look forward to reading I Am Pilgrim!