text:
Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature Study: "The effect of urban heating on the global trends is nearly negligible"
A paper submitted for peer review by the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature study (BEST) finds that urban heating has an influence on global temperature trends that is "nearly negligible" and that what effect has been observed is even slightly negative, which is to say that temperature trends in urban areas are actually cooler than the trends measured at rural sites, and that the Earth's land surface has warmed approximately 1°C on average since 1950.
The Urban Heat Island Effect
It has long been observed that temperatures in cities are higher than in the surrounding countryside, caused, in part, by human structures that reduce albedo and evapo-transpiration, as well as by the effects of waste heat emissions, McCarthy et al 2010. Even though most (99%) of the Earth's surface is not urbanized, some 27% of the Monthly Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN-M) temperature stations are located in cities having populations of more than 50,000. Since urbanization has grown dramatically over the past few centuries, it seems reasonable to ask how much of the observed rise in global temperatures is due to urbanization. For example, McKitrick and Michaels claimed in 2007 that about half of the recent warming over land is due to urban heat island effect, although this result was disputed by Schmidt in 2009.
Several studies have looked in depth at possible heat island contamination of land temperature records. For example, Hansen et al in 2010 used satellite measurements of night lights to remove possibly affected urban sites from the temperature records. Allowing for urban effects reduced the global temperature trend over the period 1900-2009 by 0.01°C. Menne et al performed an analysis on US surface temperature records and found only very small effects due to poor siting of temperature stations. They reported that poorly-sited stations did show some small positive bias in recorded minimum temperatures but there was a small, but slightly larger, negative bias in recorded maximum temperatures, resulting in an overall small residual cool bias.
The BEST project
"Our aim is to resolve current criticism of the former temperature analyses, and to prepare an open record that will allow rapid response to further criticism or suggestions."
The BEST project has the goal of merging all of the world's temperature data sets into a common data set and of using new algorithms to analyze and filter the data. The BEST archive has 39,300 stations, some five times the 7,280 stations incorporated in the GHCN-M data set.
Early results of the study were released in March 2011:
"A preliminary analysis of 2% of the Berkeley Earth dataset shows a global temperature trend that goes up and down with global cycles, and does so broadly in sync with the temperature records from other groups such as NOAA, NASA, and Hadley CRU. However, the preliminary analysis includes only a very small subset (2%) of randomly chosen data, and does not include any method for correcting for biases such as the urban heat island effect, the time of observation, or other potentially influential biases."
The BEST study has been fiercely criticized for accepting funding from the Koch Foundation, for the allegedly biased views of the project's founder Richard Muller and the choice of the controversial Judith Curry as the sole climatologist on the scientific team.
The 2011 BEST urban heating paper
The BEST paper reported on here focuses on urban effects on the temperature record . It was authored by Charlotte Wickham, Judith Curry, Don Groom, Robert Jacobsen, Richard Muller, Saul Perlmutter, Robert Rohde, Arthur Rosenfeld, and Jonathan Wurtele and is titled Influence of Urban Heating on the Global Temperature Land Average Using Rural Sites Identified from MODIS Classifications.
The temperature stations were sorted into two sets: a complete set and a set comprising only stations located far from urban areas. The authors used a satellite-imagery derived map made by the MODIS project that can distinguish between urbanized areas and rural and undeveloped areas. In order to allow for the imprecise coordinates of some of the temperature stations compared to the fine resolution of the MODIS map, the BEST authors defined the stations as either "very-rural" or not. Very-rural sites are located at least one tenth of a degree of latitude or longitude (about 11 km) away from the urban areas defined on the MODIS map.
The BEST study performed two analyses. The first looked at simple trend analysis on their raw temperature data, with the seasonal effects removed.
Figure 1: Temperature trends for all 39,028 temperature stations (left) and for the 16,132 "very-rural" sites (right). About one third of the stations showed cooling and the rest warming over their periods of record length.
The histograms all show similar average warming trends and the stations with the longest measurement durations show the least dispersion of temperature trends. The median trends for all the sites range from 0.98°C per century for sites with more than two months of observations and to 0.97°C per century for stations with record lengths greater than 30 years. The rural stations medians are 1.08 and 1.09°C per century respectively. The rural stations therefore show more median warming, about one tenth of a degree Celsius per century, than the complete data set. This result is counter-intuitive and is at odds with previous studies that showed a small but positive urban effect in the range of 0.01 to 0.1°C per century. The BEST team offers no convincing explanation of why this should be so.
One third of the records lie to the left of the zero warming line. Figure 2 illustrates how the warming and cooling sites are distributed over part of North America.
Figure 2: Locations of temperature stations with more than 70 years of data. Red dots show a warming trend and blue dots cooling. The map illustrates the importance of having multiple records to detect climate trends.
BEST's first approach does not account for unevenness in station distribution, nor is consideration given to the different time periods over which the data were acquired. In their second approach, the BEST team performed a global land temperature reconstruction with their own methodology, using all the data and the very-rural sites only. The details of the methodology used are described in a draft paper by Robert Rohde and others.
The results (Figure 3) show very little difference in the post-1950 period between the very rural stations and the rest. In fact, in the most recent few decades, the rural sites have become slightly warmer than the full data set, and show a trend of -0.19 +/- 0.19°C per century over the 1950-2010 time period, roughly consistent with the trends reported in the first method. The observed warming since 1950 is 1.9 +/- 0.1°C per century, ten times larger than, and of opposite sign to, the urban-rural effects.
Figure 3: The Berkeley Earth global temperature averages, normalized to zero mean for the period 1950 to 1980.
The main result of this study, that the influence of urban areas on the global land temperature data set is very small, corroborates the consensus view among climate scientists, including, for example, the recent paper by Souleymane Fall and others. To the extent that the BEST work resolves "current criticism of the former temperature analyses" it succeeds, even if the results come as no surprise. Nevertheless, initial reactions from certain quarters indicate, also unsurprisingly, that they are unhappy with the outcome of this and other recently released BEST studies. For example, Roger Pielke Sr comments that: "The nearly identical trends is no surprise as they draw from mostly the same raw data!" The BEST studies however, as mentioned earlier, have used all available temperature data, 39,300 stations, some five times the 7,280 stations used in the GHCN-M data set. The results of the BEST study are indeed unsurprising because the previous data sets sampled all the data adequately.
Other objections have been raised that the BEST studies were released prior to peer-review. That is indeed true and it will be interesting to see if the methodology and conclusions in these draft papers are significantly modified during the review process.
It's worth emphasizing that the study looked at the effects of urbanization on the global land temperature trend. Once ocean temperatures are considered the small urban influence on temperatures will be further diluted.
The take-away points from this study are:
once again, the accuracy of the land surface temperature record is confirmed;
the BEST study used more data than previous studies but came to essentially the same result;
the influence of the urban stations on the global record is very small and, if present at all, is biased on the cool side.
Posted by Andy Skuce on Friday, 21 October, 2011
The Skeptical Science website by Skeptical Science is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.


1. Who invented vaccination for small pox?
2. Now a days, Yellow lamps are frequently used as street lights. Which among the following gases, is used in these lamps?
3. The World Military Cup organized by the International Military Sports Council (CISM) involves which among the following sports?
4. Argon is the third most common gas in the Earth's atmosphere, at 0.93%. This gas is generated due to decay of which among the following isotopes in the Earth's crust ?
5. In which state is located the "Bhima basin" where small to medium size low grade uranium deposits have been located ?
6. In which states is located the Falta Special Economic Zone?
Which among the above are fixed in India as procedures fixed in various acts related to Wildlife / Environment protection?
8. A company wishes to establish a Multi Product Special Economic Zone in Manipur. What is the minimum area requirement for this company to fulfill for getting approval for that SEZ ?
9. Consider the following statements: 1. Biological Nitrogen Fixation occurs in absence of Oxygen only 2. Only Symbiotic Bacteria can fix atmospheric Nitrogen Which among the above statements is / are correct ?
10. Which among the following is the date for Indian Banks to be IFRS compliant ?


One of the most questionable feature in IRC clients is automatic rejoin after kick. I understand that on some cases this is useful, for example when you are a trusted channel operator or when kicks are used for entertainment. However usually this feature is annoying beyond all belief: if you want to get rid of someone, you definitely don't want to see the same user returning back like nothing had happened.
The best way to store data is to use hash tables. I know that they aren't very easy to learn for a beginner. However as soon as you start to understand them, you probably don't want to use complex variables which are forced to evaluate with unreadable evaluation brackets. In this example we are using a hash table called kick-<cid><channel> which has kicked nicks as keys and $true as data value. So if Geetee gets kicked on #mirc when the connection id is 3, a hash table called kick-3#mirc will have a item called Geetee and data $true. The item will be removed after five seconds. If user joins in less than five seconds, it can be assumed that it's automatic rejoin. Naturally you can change this value to something better if you want to.
There is no need to have any aliases for protection against automatic rejoin. The on KICK event checks that you have kicked someone and sets the hash table item ($nick is you, $knick is the user getting kicked). The on JOIN event triggers when you are operator on the channel and when it has been less than five seconds since the nick was kicked. Then the user is banned and kicked. Note that autorejoin protection should never be just a kick. If you only kick someone who has automatic rejoin, you will get into infinite loop.
This script has one known problem: if channel's banlist is full, the script will result in infinite loop because the ban doesn't get through. On normal cases this is very unlikely to happen but in case it happens, you have been warned. The reason why I can't give a script that takes this into account is that there is no way for the script to know what is the maximum ban limit. It would also require you to have a synchronized IBL.
If you're wondering why there's a check for $knick in the on KICK event, it's because of a rather rare but possible scenario. You could kick yourself, join the channel very quickly, and get auto-opped. If this happened, the script would ban and kick yourself if the check wasn't there.


For such a long time, I've needed to get a new pair of glasses. I don't wear them very often, and am a bit rubbish at remembering to put them on. My previous frames only had an anti-glare coating to help protect my eyes when spending hours editing photos, but I'd noticed them getting tired quicker, to the point where they were becoming dry and sore. Being a photographer, my eyes are so important to I was almost too scared to book an appointment for fear of what I'd be told - but when Vision Express invited me to pop along to their Festive Frames event, I was put at ease and felt like my eyes were in safe hands.
Both me and my peepers were put through a style overhaul, firstly with a team of optical magicians who tested my eye health, and then with celebrity stylist Gemma Sheppard who gave me advice on choosing frames. And then to feel totally spoilt, it was into make-up to get my eyes looking superglam before being photographed looking absolutely frilled with my chosen glasses.
In the end, the pair of glasses which I chose were these stunning Red Heritage Glasses. I felt like I was living my best life as Velma Dinkley, and adored the dark red shade which would go with all the mustard, black and berry tones I wear. I also completely fell in love with the full rimmed vintage style cat eye shape - it's such a classic and I felt it really fit in with my day to day wardrobe without feeling like a costume prop.
If you want to get your own eyes road tested before Christmas kicks in, Vision Express are currently offering a free eye test when booked online right up until the 26th November. And with a huge range of glasses from just £39, there's lots of choice available if you feel like treating yourself ahead of the festive fun!
You look fab in glasses & you have reminded me that I need to get my eyes tested!


text:
For the Name Vincent
Notable Persons Named Vincent
Notable Persons With the Last Name Vincent
What Vincents Have Visited This Page?
Meaning of Vincent
Find Vincent's Secrets
Add what Vincent means to you
12k Vince	(Nickname)
987 Vinny	(Nickname)
8k Vincenzo
<100 Fusca
4k Vinnie	(Nickname)
4.4m Michael
317k Victor
186 Vin	(Nickname)
1.4m Anthony
2.6m Joseph
1.4m Paul
2k Vic	(Nickname)
How to Pronounce Vincent
Vincent Pronunciations
User from Wisconsin, United States
User from Netherlands
User from Arkansas, United States
User from United States
How difficult is it to pronounce Vincent?
Can Vincent be pronounced multiple ways?
We noticed you have a microphone. If you know how to pronounce Vincent, just click the button to record. We'll save it, review it, and post it to help others. Recordings from children under 18 are not allowed.
What does the name Vincent mean? Find out below.
Origin and Meaning of Vincent
User Submitted Origins
A user from Canada says the name Vincent is of French origin and means "Victory".
A submission from Pennsylvania, United States says the name Vincent means "Conquering" and is of Latin origin.
According to a user from Virginia, United States, the name Vincent is of Latin origin and means "Conqueror. From the Latin vincere - "to conquer"".
A submission from Wisconsin, United States says the name Vincent means "God" and is of English origin.
Submit the origin and/or meaning of Vincent to us below
Origin of Vincent
Vincent Means
From French, from Latin Vincentius, from vincēns ("conquering"), from the verb vincō.
A patronymic surname.
Vincent was also found in the following language(s): French, German, Slovak, and Swedish
Vincent van Gogh was an artist in the fields of painting and drawing. Vincent was born on March 30th, 1853 in Zundert, Netherlands. He passed away on July 29th, 1890.
Alice Cooper is a hard rock, heavy metal music, shock rock, and glam rock musician. He plays Vocals. He was most active from 1963 to present. Alice was given the name Vincent Damon Furnier on February 4th, 1948 in Detroit, Michigan, US.
Vince McMahon is a majority owner, chairman, and ceo of wwe, promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor, professional wrestler, wwe, sports commentator, and and ceo ofwwe. He holds the title Chairman, President, CEO, Chairman (1980–present), President (1980–1993), and CEO (1980–1993; 2009–present). His most notable accomplishments were from 1969 to present. Vince was given the name Vincent Kennedy McMahon by his parents Vince McMahon and Sr. on August 24th, 1945 in Pinehurst, North Carolina. Vince is also known as Mr. McMahon and Vincent K. McMahon.
Vincent D'Onofrio
Vincent D'Onofrio is an actor, producer, and singer. His ongoing career started in 1983. Vincent was given the name Vincent Philip D'Onofrio on June 30th, 1959 in Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Vincent Cassel is an actor and director. His ongoing career started in 1987. Vincent was given the name Vincent Crochon by his parent Jean-Pierre Cassel on November 23rd, 1966 in Paris.
Vince Vaughn is an actor, producer, screenwriter, comedian, activist, film producer, and activism. His ongoing career started in 1988. Vince was given the name Vincent Anthony Vaughn on March 28th, 1970 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States.
Vince Foster
Soccer Player
Vincent Gallo
Vinnie Paul
Vince Flynn
Vinny Guadagnino
Television Personality
St. Vincent is an art rock, baroque pop, indie rock, and indie pop musician. She was most active from 2003 to present. St. was given the name Anne Erin Clark on September 28th, 1982 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
Joyce Carol Vincent
Joyce was born Joyce Carol Vincent on October 19th, 1965 in Hammersmith. She breathed her last breath in 2003.
Jan-Michael Vincent
Jan-Michael Vincent is a film and television actor. He was most active from 1967 to 2002. Jan-Michael was born on July 15th, 1944 in Denver. Jan-Michael is also known as Jan Michael Vincent, Michael Vincent, and Mike Vincent.
Frank Vincent is an actor, musician, author, and entrepreneur. He has been prominent since 1976. Frank was given the name Frank Vincent Gattuso on August 4th, 1939 in North Adams, Massachusetts.
Vinnie Vincent is a glam metal, heavy metal music, and hard rock musician and songwriter. He was most active from 1970 to 1997. Vinnie was given the name Vincent John Cusano on August 6th, 1952 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Vinnie is also known as The Ankh Warrior".
Gene Vincent was a rockabilly, rock, roll, blues, and country music musician. His most notable accomplishments were from 1955 to 1971. Gene was given the name Vincent Eugene Craddock on February 11th, 1935 in Norfolk, Virginia, United States. He breathed his last breath on October 12th, 1971.
How popular is the baby name Vincent in the U.S.?
1880 41 0 41
1911 506 10 496 #80 boy name
1993 3,697 11 3,686 #100 boy name
1994 3,612 9 3,603 #100 boy name
Where is the name Vincent popular?
Popularity of Vincent as a first name
The map shows the relative popularity of the name Vincent as a first name in each of the states. See other popular names in New York, New Jersey, or Rhode Island.
Popularity of Vincent as a last name
The map shows the relative popularity of the name Vincent as a last name in each of the states. See other popular names in Louisiana, Kentucky, or Delaware.
Common last names for Vincent
Common first names for Vincent
█ Asian, Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander 1.40% 4.85%
Of Last Name Vincent
People with the last name Vincent are most frequently White or African American
Fun Facts about the name Vincent
What name lists does Vincent rank for?
#97 Most Popular Boy Name
#67 Last Name First Names
#7 Boy Names Unique to the Northeast
#6 Boy Names Unique to the Mideast
How Popular is the name Vincent? Vincent is the 207th most popular name of all time. As a last name Vincent was the 641st most popular name in 2010.
How many people with the first name Vincent have been born in the United States? From 1880 to 2017, the Social Security Administration has recorded 339,017 babies born with the first name Vincent in the United States. That's more than enough people named Vincent to occupy the country of Iceland with an estimated population of 320,060 (as of April 1, 2012).
What year were 5 or more babies first named Vincent? The name was first given to 5 or more babies in the year 1880 when it was given as a first name to 41 new born babies.
When was Vincent first recorded in the United States? The oldest recorded birth by the Social Security Administration for the first name Vincent is Tuesday, April 3rd, 1866.
What year had the most people named Vincent born? The highest recorded use of the first name Vincent was in 1962 with a total of 6,157 babies. That's a lot of babies named Vincent!
Random Vincent Factoid: According to the 1967 U.S. Social Security Administration data, the first name Vincent ranks 100th in popularity as a baby boy's name in South Carolina. Imagine that, 55 babies in South Carolina have the same name as you in 1967.
Weird things about the name Vincent: Your name in reverse order is Tnecniv. A random rearrangement of the letters in your name (anagram) will give Ectvnni. How do you pronounce that?
How many people have the last name Vincent? In 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau surveyed 53,095 people with the last name Vincent.
How likely are you to meet someone with the last name of Vincent? If you manage to meet 100,000 people in your life, chances are that 18 of them will have Vincent as their last name.
Vincent Delmotte
Vincent Triola
Vincent Kargbo
Vincent Backs
Morka Vincent
Vincent Chesner
Vincent B Teku
Vincent Cunniffe
La Vonne Jay Vincent
Nikola Vincent
Name poster for Vincent
<100 Ariaska
446 Aeva
<100 Khetan
<100 Samza
<100 Ranav
<100 Petrash
<100 Yexi
135 Anhthu
9k Sarina
<100 Javana
<100 Saravanam
<100 Mzinyane
<100 Jimny
<100 Horbin
9k Noble
<100 Sowrav
<100 Mijala
<100 Lelouch
<100 Desmonia
<100 Jerdaine

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Cruising – Oasis of the Seas
If you are considering combining a trip to that most exciting of places, Orlando, Florida, with a cruise to the Caribbean, then you have a huge choice of ships. One of the largest and newest is Royal Caribbean International's ' Oasis of the Seas, ' which has its inaugural sailing on December 5th, 2009.
As the largest and most revolutionary cruise ship in the world, ' Oasis of the Seas' spans 16 decks, with a gross registered tonnage of 225, 282 tons, and a length of nearly 1200 ft. She really is a leviathan of the seas. With double occupancy, this amazing ship can accommodate 5, 400 guests, in 2, 700 staterooms – of which there are 32 categories. With full capacity she is capable of accommodating 6, 300 passengers, with a crew of 2, 100. She even has retractable smoke stacks to enable her to go under bridges which cannot accommodate her full height. ' Oasis of the Seas' replaces the Freedom class, with the Genesis class of ships, and her sister ship, ' Allure of the Seas, ' makes her maiden voyage in November, 2010.
' Oasis of the Seas' was built in Finland, like most of the Royal Caribbean International's fleet, and it was ordered in February 2006. She was delivered to her proud owners on October 28th, 2009, prior to her making her debut into Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale on November 11th. Her captain, Captain William D. Wright was at the helm as she made her Transatlantic voyage to the USA.
' Oasis of the Seas' will be named at a special naming ceremony on November 30th, and not only will she be named but there will be a one night celebration and fundraiser to benefit the ' Make-A-Wish Foundation. ' Following this she will depart for Labadee, the cruise lines private beach.
Of course, Royal Caribbean International have been at the forefront of innovation and revolution, and this ship is going to follow that trend, with its entertainment boulevard stretching nearly the length of the ship, plus a rock climbing wall, ice rink, surf simulator, cantilevered whirlpools, and a whole range of new attractions.
' Oasis of the Sea' s pioneers the concept of 'neighbourhoods' which comprise seven themed areas with a variety of styles and moods. These seven neighbourhoods include Central Park, Boardwalk, the Royal Promenade, Vitality at Sea Spa and Fitness Center, Entertainment Place, Youth Zone, and Pool and Sports Zone. Within these neighbourhoods passengers can experience such things as zip-lining diagonally nine-decks above an open-air atrium, an aquatic amphitheatre called Aqua Theater which is a pool by day and a fantastic waterfront theater at night, a park at sea complete with trees and plants, an original handcrafted carousel, and 28 sensational multi-storey loft suites with floor to ceiling windows.
She look utterly amazing, and I would love to sail on her.
Page added on: 10 November 2009
Viewed 2963 times since 10 November 2009.
Water, Water…every where!!!
Cruising for the Disabled Part 6 Cruising with RCI
Lakeridge Winery Florida
Florida Attractions (1)
Visiting clubs in Las Vegas


text:
using MIConvexHull;
using System.Collections.Generic;

namespace TVGL
{
    public readonly struct StraightLine2D : ICurve
    {

        public readonly Vector2 Anchor;

        public readonly Vector2 Direction;

        public StraightLine2D(Vector2 anchor, Vector2 direction)
        {
            Anchor = anchor;
            Direction = direction;
        }

        public double SquaredErrorOfNewPoint<T>(T point) where T : IVertex2D
        {
            var fromAnchor =new Vector2(point.X - Anchor.X, point.Y - Anchor.Y);
            var cross = fromAnchor.Cross(Direction);
            return cross * cross;
        }

        public static bool CreateFromPoints<T>(IEnumerable<T> points, out ICurve curve, out double error) where T : IVertex2D
        {
            double xCoeff;
            double yCoeff;
            bool ConstantIsZero;
            // based on word file, we will solve the two simultaneous equations with substitution
            double g = 0.0, h = 0.0, k = 0.0, m = 0.0, n = 0.0;
            var numPoints = 0;
            foreach (var p in points)
            {
                g += p.X * p.X;
                h += p.X * p.Y;
                k += p.Y * p.Y;
                m += p.X;
                n += p.Y;
                numPoints++;
            }
            if (numPoints < 2)
            {
                curve = new StraightLine2D();
                error = double.PositiveInfinity;
                return false;
            }
            var denom = k * g - h * h;
            if (denom.IsNegligible())
            {
                ConstantIsZero = true;
                if (g.IsNegligible())
                {
                    yCoeff = 0;
                    xCoeff = 1;
                }
                else
                {
                    yCoeff = 1;
                    xCoeff = h / g;
                }
            }
            else
            {
                ConstantIsZero = false;
                yCoeff = (n * g - m * h) / denom;
                xCoeff = (m - yCoeff * h) / g;
            }
            if (yCoeff == 0) //line is vertical
                curve = new StraightLine2D(new Vector2(1 / xCoeff, 0), Vector2.UnitY);
            else
            {
                var anchor = ConstantIsZero ? Vector2.Zero : new Vector2(0, 1 / yCoeff);
                curve = new StraightLine2D(anchor, new Vector2(yCoeff, -xCoeff).Normalize());
            }
            error = 0.0;
            foreach (var p in points)
                error += curve.SquaredErrorOfNewPoint(p);
            error /= numPoints;
            return true;
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Becky Robertson
Leon's and The Brick staying open during pandemic despite being non-essential
As non-essential businesses close their doors to the public across the country — some by choice and some by order of their provincial government — residents are noticing that a few select companies are still remaining open despite not providing necessary products or services.
Leon's, the Canadian furniture retailer that operates 205 stores across every province of the country under the banners of Leon's and The Brick, still has a number of locations open and people are wondering why.
@morris_33 @jdmnarin another example of the disgusting corporate greed we deal with. @fordnation #shutdown means NOTHING. @JustinTrudeau tells ppl stay HOME. @LeonsFurniture & others SHIP delivery guys OUT to work. LMFAO
— Joe Stewart (@SMB0213) March 25, 2020
Home furnishings aren't exactly an essential good right now, and the premiers of both Ontario and Quebec — where some Leon's stores are still open and serving the public — have already mandated that all non-essential businesses must shut down for at least two weeks in the former province and three in the latter. (And other provinces are considering doing the same.)
Uhhh ya? Is this a voluntary decision they are making? Since when tf was leons essential??
— Bingbong (@bingbongjb) March 25, 2020
Though Leon's did make the decision on Wednesday to close 72 of its stores and lay off around half of its current workforce, it seems to have done so mostly due to a drastic decline in customers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
And, more concerningly, some outlets are planning to stay open, even in the provinces where they are technically among the businesses that have been instructed to close.
@fordnation dear https://t.co/zmUpHh3cx8. please explain to me how leons is the only furniture chain https://t.co/UK0CLTvYe9.? They are not an essential service.
— Jeff (@jpulham1387) March 25, 2020
Though a number of Ontario locations of both Leon's and The Brick have already completely closed to the public or are operating via pickup and delivery only, others are still very much open, though some of them are unsure for how long after Wednesday.
Select Leon's locations in the GTA — such as those in Scarborough, Newmarket and Concord — are open until further notice, but operating "on daily basis instructions" and on reduced hours.
Others in Brampton, Burlington and Whitby are, at the time of publication, definitively staying open despite the other Leon's closures (also on reduced hours).
The Brick locations at Dufferin and Dupont in Toronto and Kennedy and 401 in Scarborough are also not among the 72 stores closing down and will remain open, according to staff on-site on Wednesday.
A page about the coronavirus situation on the company website ensures that "enhanced store cleaning measures" are currently in place, which include daily sanitizing.
The statement goes on to say: "We understand that while not everything we provide is a necessity, we also recognize that there are certain products that are essential to operating a household."
Good news! I'm concerned that @LeonsFurniture hasn't closed while every other national chain has. Not an essential service and this biz is deliberately endangering their employees.
— Lauren B (@LaurenBondar) March 23, 2020
Similar furniture and homeware brand IKEA made the decision to shut down all locations in Canada a week ago for the safety of customers and employees given the high-touch nature of its stores. The Brick and Leon's are known for similar showrooms where shoppers can try out a couches, mattresses and more.
It is unclear how long the stores will be able to keep their doors open, but businesses who defy orders under the Health Protection and Promotion Act in Ontario can face fines of up to $25,000 per day.
Lead photo by
Raysonho/Wikimedia Commons
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text:
8 Best Castles in Arizona
By VacationIdea Staff on November 4, 2022 - Updated
Courtesy of Tom - Fotolia.com
When people think about the United States, and the Southwest in particular, they don't really think about there being any castles. However, the southwestern region of the country has several "castles" that are not only interesting to see but also have their own unique and fascinating stories. From a stone castle built into a cliffside by hand to an elegant castle estate, there is a wide range of castles to be found in the state of Arizona as well as castles of interest to just about every visitor to the American Southwest.
1.Camelback Castle
© Courtesy of anatoliil - Fotolia.com
Camelback Castle, formerly known as Copenhaver Castle, was mainly built by hand by its previous owner, Dr. Mort Copenhaver. Copenhaver was a dentist who purchased an almost vertical piece of land on the side of Arizona's Camelback Mountain. Desiring a castle-like home on the lot, he blasted rock in order to create space for the structure and then proceeded to construct the castle by moving and placing each stone by hand. The castle consists of eight levels of thick granite walls, five bedrooms, ten balconies, a large waterfall, four fireplaces, a dungeon that features a bar, secret passageways, and much more.
5050 E Red Rock Dr, Phoenix, AZ 85018, Phone: 602-840-2271
Fun day trip ideas: South Carolina, Oregon, Texas
2.Castles in Arizona: Mollohan Castle
© Mollohan Castle
Mollohan Castle, located just 10 minutes from the city center of Tucson, is surrounded by the beautiful Sonoran Desert. It makes for a great place to stay a few nights for a wide variety of travelers, including desert adventurers, castle enthusiasts, culture seekers, retreat seekers, sun lovers, and more. The patios and decks of the castle offer guests spectacular panoramic views of Tucson and the surrounding mountain ranges. Mollohan Castles features several bedrooms, outdoor futons, a family kitchen, a washing machine, a gas grill, and a pool table. There is also a trail starting behind the property for hiking, biking, and horse riding.
1939 W Mollohan Dr, Tucson, AZ 85746, Phone: 520-908-0910
Things to do near me today: From Phoenix, WV, IN, AK, Boulder
3.Montezuma Castle National Monument
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The Montezuma Castle National Monument offers visitors a chance to view one of North America's best-preserved cliff dwellings, offering a look into the windows of the land's past. This 20-room dwelling was built into a tall limestone cliff and shares a story of survival, ingenuity, and prosperity within the harsh landscape of the desert. Montezuma Castle was made one of the first National Monuments of the United States in 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt. The monument is a legacy of the area's Sinagua people. Even after their departure 600 years ago, the Sinagua still inspire those who come to see the cliff dwellings.
2800 Montezuma Castle Highway, Camp Verde, AZ 86322, Phone: 928-567-3322
What are some popular things to do: WA, Charleston, New England, Cleveland, San Diego -- You are reading "8 Best Castles in Arizona" Back to Top
4.Castles in Arizona: Mystery Castle
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Mystery Castle is a stone castle built in the Arizona desert. Featuring 18 rooms, parapets, and 13 fireplaces among other features, the structure is furnished with antiques from the Southwest. The castle was built by Boyce Gully for his daughter, Mary Lou. The two used to build sandcastles on the beach in Seattle. Saddened when the tide washed away her castles, Mary Lou asked her dad to build a strong castle that she could live in someday, suggesting it be built in the desert, where there isn't any water. The castle is open to visitors from October to May.
800 E. Mineral Road, Phoenix, AZ 85042, Phone: 602-268-1581
What are some fun must-see places: NJ beaches, Retreats, San Francisco, Asheville
5.Arizona Castles: Sibley Castle
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There are some places in the world that draw people to them and inspire visitors to one day return to discover more. Just east of Tucson in the Galiuro Mountains is just such a place, an area known as the Copper Creek District. The area is rich in both history and intrigue. One sight to see in Copper Creek is what's left of Sibley Castle, also known as Sibley Mansion. It was once the home of Joseph Sibley, founder of Galena-Signal Oil. Sibley had acquired a large amount of wealth from the business and was known to be a friend of Rockefeller.
Copper Creek, Pinal County, AZ 85618
Expert opinion: Where should I go this weekend for fun? WI, Day trips from NYC, From San Francisco, Tampa, FL, LA, From Minneapolis, ID, From Dallas -- You are reading "8 Best Castles in Arizona this Weekend" Back to Top
6.Arizona Castles: The Ashley Castle
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The Ashley Castle in Chandler is a stately and beautiful English-style castle. Guests are welcome to take a walk through the impressive outdoor garden rooms of the grounds and enter an elegant kingdom once they step through the antique doors of the castle. The castle is decorated with stunning treasures from Europe as well as fine linens and rich textures. While the main feature of the grounds is the splendid castle building itself, the outdoor gardens are particularly beautiful, and the driveway includes a charming fountain. The Ashley Castle often hosts many special events, such as wedding, birthdays, and corporate events.
1300 S. Price Road, Chandler, AZ 85286, Phone: 480-857-8030
Top Rated: Last minute places for couples: CT, IL, CA, MD, VT, VA, Atlanta, From Chicago, MD beaches
7.Arizona Castles: Tovrea at Carraro Heights
© Courtesy of Chris - Fotolia.com
Tovrea Castle at Carraro Heights is considered to be a desert gem. For 90 years, the castle has intrigued locals and visitors alike in the Valley of the Sun. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the castle is four stories tall and is 5,000 square feet of architectural wonder. The groomed cactus gardens and natural flora of the Sonoran Desert cascade from Tovrea Castle. The castle can only be explored on a tour, and it's advised to buy tickets as soon as possible before a visit as they often sell out months in advance. There's very little walk-up availability.
5025 East Van Buren Street, Phoenix, AZ 85008, Phone: 602-256-3221
Affordable things to see near me, must-visit beaches, cheap weekend getaways: CO, Seattle Flagstaff, Napa, Portland, MN, Winston-Salem, Scottsdale, Dallas, SC
8.El Cid Castle
© zwiebackesser/stock.adobe.com
Castles are somewhat rare in the US, which is why several sprung up here and there during the 19th and 20th century. However, do not set your sights too high as this unusual landmark was never built to house royalty, but was rather the eccentric Dr. Kenneth E. Halls grandiose idea of a bowling alley. Built over a period of nearly 20 years, the castle was located on 20 acres and was intended to house 35 bowling alleys, several recreation rooms, an ice-skating rink, nightclub and French Restaurant. Alas, it only opened its doors to the public for one year before it was sold to pay off debts. Almost completely hidden by a dramatic renovation, it is now home to the Arizona Department of Economic Security.
11420 North 19th Ave, Sunnyslope, Phoenix, AZ 85020
Our experts' top picks for a long weekend getaway for couples: Portland, Martha's Vineyard, Miami, WA, MN , From D.C., Destin, MA, AK, Wilmington, Salem, Labor Day, Botanical Gardens, NYC Without a Car, IL Beaches, Columbus Day, New England, DE, Tacoma, Last Minute, MI, Lakes
Camelback Castle, Photo: Courtesy of anatoliil - Fotolia.com
Castles in Arizona: Mollohan Castle, Photo: Mollohan Castle
Montezuma Castle National Monument, Photo: Courtesy of Jana - Fotolia.com
Castles in Arizona: Mystery Castle, Photo: Courtesy of johnalexandr - Fotolia.com
Arizona Castles: Sibley Castle, Photo: Courtesy of Gaja - Fotolia.com
Arizona Castles: The Ashley Castle, Photo: Courtesy of IKvyatkovskaya - Fotolia.com
Arizona Castles: Tovrea at Carraro Heights, Photo: Courtesy of Chris - Fotolia.com
El Cid Castle, Photo: zwiebackesser/stock.adobe.com
Cover Photo: Courtesy of Tom - Fotolia.com
More Ideas in AZ: Walnut Canyon National Monument
Walnut Canyon is a national monument in Flagstaff, Arizona with preserved ancient cliff dwellings constructed by the Sinagua people, a central Arizonan pre-Colombian culture that lived between 500 and 1425 CE. The dwellings were built between 1100 and 1250 CE. The National Monument spans 3,600 acres just 8 miles southeast of Flagstaff, with a 6-mile stretch that encompasses Walnut Creek and the length of the canyon where the Sinagua built their homes. The National Monument offers several vantage points from which to see the cliff dwellings and surrounding geological structures.
The Island Trail passes by 25 of the rooms, and more can be seen across the canyon from the trail. Today, there are 80 dwellings in total, and at one point numbered close to 300 rooms. The Island Trail is a strenuous, 1-mile trip that takes approximately 1 hour to complete. Although paved, it descends almost 200 feet into the canyon, and hikers return uphill the same way. Each of the rooms, set just off the edge of the trail, is approximately 20 feet wide, 7 feet tall, and 10 feet deep; just large enough for a single family to cook and sleep in. Originally, the caves would have been reinforced with golden clay walls, with the doorways supported with wooden beams and wooden doors. The Rim Trail offers a self-guided hike through the ponderosa forest overlooking the canyon. There are two built-in overlooks on the 0.7-mile round-trip trail, which traverses the areas in which the Sinagua grew their crops. Hikers walk past an ancient pithouse as well as a pueblo. These were the first dwellings in which the Sinagua lived. It was not until 1100 CE that the alcoves were carved out of the eroded limestone rocks. The Rim Trail is paved, wheelchair accessible, and offers an easy 30-minute hike. Wildlife enthusiasts may see over 100 species of birds in the canyons as well as jack rabbits, coyote, mule deer, and elk, among other animals. The northern goshawk, one of the rarest raptors in the United States, is a resident of the canyon, as are peregrine falcons and golden eagles. The Walnut Canyon Visitor Center offers expansive views of the canyon and surrounding land, and includes amenities such as a picnic area, a bookstore, and restrooms. A small museum at the visitor center offers exhibits and a display of native artifacts.
History: The Sinagua is the name given to this ancient group by archeologists, from the old Spanish name for the region, Sierra de Sin Agua, meaning "mountains without water." The Sinagua were the first to create permanent dwellings in the canyon, although they were not the first to live there. They adapted to the dry climate of Arizona with advanced techniques for finding and conserving water as well as farming. The Sinagua grew corn, squas,h and beans in volcanic terrain using a method known as "dry farming." Advanced irrigation techniques included the building of terraces and rock dams to store and conserve rain water. Although the crops provided much of their food, the Sinagua were likely attracted to the area by the variety of plant species and wildlife, and hunted bighorn sheep and deer. The Sinagua suddenly left their cliffside homes in 1250 to move to nearby villages, leaving over 80 dwellings behind. It is not known what triggered the move, but speculation includes drought or fear of neighboring tribes. In the 1880s many of the dwellings were dynamited by treasure hunters in search of Sinagua possessions. The alarming theft and destruction is what drove local citizens to establish the National Monument in 1915.
Reservations are required for the ranger-guided hikes. The Canyon Ledge Hike is a strenuous 90-minute hike that takes visitors past the ancient cave dwellings, up along narrow ledges and rocky slopes. The Ranger Cabin Walk takes guests on an easy 2-hour hike to the recently restored ranger cabin. Built in 1904, the log cabin was originally where rangers and their families lived as they worked to protect the park and welcome visitors. One of the oldest remaining log cabins in Arizona, the home was added to the Nation Register of Historic Places in 1975.
What's Nearby: Camping is unavailable at Walnut Creek National Monument, but visitors to the area can camp at Bonito Campground in the Coconino National Forest just across the street.
6400 U.S. 89, Flagstaff, AZ 86004, Phone: 928-526-3367
More Things to Do in Flagstaff
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More Ideas in AZ: Hoover Dam
Located in the Colorado River's Black Canyon along the border between Nevada and Arizona in the United States, Hoover Dam, originally called Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch gravity dam constructed during the American Great Depression. The origins of Hoover Dam stretch back to the end of the 19th century with early attempts to divert the Colorado River's waters for the purposes of flood control, irrigation, and power production. The operation of the Alamo Canal starting in the 1890s was fraught with financial difficulties, catastrophic breaches, and landowner disputes, prompting consideration of using the Lower Colorado as a hydroelectric power source.
Surveys throughout the early part of the 20th century suggested the creation of a dam, including a survey conducted by the Reclamation Service, which is now known as the United States Bureau of Reclamation. Though the Reclamation Service rejected initial dam proposals suggesting the use of dynamite to collapse Boulder Canyon's walls, a 1922 report by the agency, known as the Fall-Davis report, officially recommended development of a dam in the area, around 30 miles southeast of Las Vegas.
Authorization for the project was approved by the United States Congress in 1928 and granted to the Six Companies, Inc. consortium. $165 million in funds was designated for the dam as part of the Boulder Canyon Project Act, and a design for a concrete arch-gravity dam, overseen by Bureau engineer John L. Savage, was chosen as the official plan for construction. Though the city of Las Vegas lobbied heavily to be used as headquarters for dam construction, a model city, forming the basis of modern-day Boulder City, Nevada, was constructed for the project instead. More than 5,000 workers contributed to the construction of the dam between 1931 and 1936, with 112 dying throughout the construction process due to dangerous working conditions and high local summertime heat.
By the time of its completion two years ahead of the originally presented schedule, more than 3,250,000 cubic yards of concrete had been used in the construction of the dam, with another 1,110,000 cubic yards used in construction of the facility's power plant, enough to otherwise pave a two-lane highway stretching from New York to San Francisco. A formal dedication ceremony for the dam with a speech by President Franklin D. Roosevelt took place on September 30, 1935, drawing a crowd of 10,000, though work on the dam was not officially completed until March of 1936.
During surveying and construction, the dam was referred to as the Boulder Dam or the Boulder Canyon Dam, although no official name was mentioned in initial legislation. The name "Hoover Dam" was coined by Secretary of the Interior Ray Wilbur in a 1930 address to Las Vegas commencing the building of a railway between Las Vegas and Boulder City for the dam's construction, citing a supposed tradition of naming dams after American presidents, though no such tradition existed on record. Controversy over the dam's name ensued over the next several years, precipitated by the election defeat of President Herbert Hoover in 1932 and spearheaded by lobbying efforts by incoming Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes, who preferred the name "Boulder Dam." The Boulder Dam name failed to take hold with the American media, however, and in 1947, Congress officially restored the Hoover Dam naming.
Permanent Structures and Attractions
Today, the dam is designated as a National Historic Landmark and remains one of the most renowned architectural achievements in modern history, listed as one of the Seven Modern Civil Engineering Wonders of America by the American Society of Civil Engineers. The dam impounds the Lake Mead reservoir, capturing the entire Colorado River flow and generating power through its series of turbines and generators. Annual net power generation at the facility varies between two and 10 terawatt hours, though concerns in the 2010s over falling water levels at Lake Mead due to increased drought have called the long-term future of dam operations into question. Water from Lake Mead is also used for municipal and irrigation purposes, serving more than 18 million people across the southwestern United States and supplying water for more than a million acres of farmland.
The dam is designed in an Art Deco style with sculpted turrets along its face, elements applied to its construction plans by Los Angeles architect Gordon B. Kaufmann. Decoration for the interior of the dam facility was overseen by Denver artist Allen Tupper True, who incorporated Native American tribal and natural motifs and a color-coding system for the facility's pipes and machinery. Sculptures adorning the dam and its surrounding grounds were created by Norwegian-born sculptor Oskar J.W. Hansen, including a memorial for the 112 fallen dam workers. A terrazzo floor on the base of the monument contains an astrological map depicting the sky of the Northern Hemisphere at the time of the dam's dedication.
The dam facility is one of the country's leading tourist attractions, drawing more than a million annual visitors to its tours, which have been presented by the Bureau of Reclamation since 1937. Two tour packages are offered, a 30-minute power plant tour and an hourlong dam tour. The power plant tour combines guide presentations with multimedia exhibits, while the full dam tour offers a docent-led exploration of the facility's power plant and passageways, highlighting historical anecdotes and information about lesser-known parts of the facility. All tours include admission to the facility's Visitor Center, which features exhibits about the dam's history and operations, and food concession and gift shop facilities are available near the dam's parking garage. Educational tours for school groups and organizations are offered by appointment, and private event rental may be arranged to use the facility for weddings, conferences, and other special events.
P.O. Box 60400, Boulder City, NV 89005, Phone: 702-494-2302
More Things to Do in Nevada
More Ideas in AZ: Petrified Forest National Park
Located in Apache and Navajo Counties in northeastern Arizona, Petrified Forest National Park is a 230-square-mile park named for its deposits of petrified fallen tree fossils from the Late Triassic Period. Much of the unique geology of the Petrified Forest area is formed from sediments containing fossilized logs of trees from the Late Triassic Period, which occurred around 225 million years ago.
The sediments of this fossilized material, which also includes smaller plant life and animal remains from the Late Triassic, is referred to as the Chinle Formation where it appears within the boundaries of the Petrified Forest. An assortment of sedimentary rocks, including soft mud, silt, and bentonite clay, as well as harder limestone and sandstone, formed a unique multicolored pattern of rock in the area. Around 60 million years ago, tectonic activity in the area that now encompasses the southwestern United States caused the Colorado Plateau area to be pushed upward more than 10,000 feet above sea level, exposing the rock formations to erosion by wind and water. As a result, the area has been carved into colorful badlands formations comprised of cliffs, mesas, and rounded hills.
Humans have inhabited the Colorado Plateau area for more than 13,000 continuous years, first arriving in nomadic tribes at the end of the last Ice Age. The earliest inhabitants of what is now the Petrified Forest arrived around 8,000 years ago, transitioning from early hunter-gatherer societies into the agricultural communities of the Ancient Pueblo people, though persistent dry climate conditions caused mass migration away from the area by the 15th century. European settlers passed through the area throughout the 16th through 19th centuries, dubbing the area the Painted Desert due to the variety of rock sediment coloring.
Commercial development of the area throughout the 1800s led to an increased interest in the use of petrified wood as commercial material, and as a result, an increase in interest in the preservation of the material. Excavations throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries uncovered more than 500 historic indigenous archaeological sites, along with a large number of prehistoric skeletons and other fossils. The earliest attempts to preserve the area as a national park date back to 1895, and a decade later, the Antiquities Act by President Theodore Roosevelt established the area as a national monument. The monument was designated as a national park in 1962, and several preservation acts since have worked to combat the problem of theft and vandalism of petrified wood within the park.
Today, the park encompasses around 230 square miles, bordered by the Navajo Nation on its northern and northeastern ends, and serves around 650,000 annual visitors. Its elevation ranges from 5,340 feet to 6,230 feet above sea level, featuring a major concentration of its petrified wood deposits in its southern end. The park's climate is dry and windy, experiencing wide temperature variation throughout the year, ranging from freezing temperatures in the winter to summer highs of more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit. More than 447 flora species are native to the area's semi-desert shrub steppe climate, including more than 100 unique species of grass. Animal life found in the park includes coyotes, bobcats, pronghorns, jackrabbits, and 216 species of migratory and permanent resident birds.
The park's headquarters are located 28 miles east of the city of Holbrook and are accessible via Interstate 40. The Painted Desert Visitor Center, part of the Painted Desert Community Complex Historic District, provides visitor information and shows a 15-minute park orientation film, Timeless Impressions. Nearby, the Painted Desert Inn provides lodging for park visitors and contains murals that serve as a museum exhibit dedicated to Hopi tribal life. On the southern end of the park, the Rainbow Forest Museum displays exhibits showcasing petrified fossils and wood recovered from the park and provides information on the area's prehistoric life.
Several overlooks near the Visitor Center provide views of the park's Painted Desert areas, including Chinde Point, which offers picnic facilities, and Tawa Point, which serves as a trailhead for the mile-roundtrip Painted Desert Rim Trail. South of historic Route 66 and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, which intersect the park from east to west, the Puerco Pueblo archaeological site showcases the excavated remains of Pueblo structures from more than 600 years ago, and nearby Newspaper Rock features more than 650 ancient petroglyph rock carvings. The Jasper Forest area is home to the park's largest accumulation of petrified wood, while the Blue Mesa, Crystal Forest, Long Logs, Giant Logs, and Agate House trails provide hiking routes of varied length and difficulty.
In addition to self-guided hiking and backpacking along the park's trails, horseback riding is permitted within the park's grounds. Permit camping is permitted in the park's Wilderness Area, located north of the Visitor Center and accessible via the Kachina Point access trail. Cultural demonstrations are presented throughout the park periodically, showcasing indigenous traditions, and ranger-led guided hikes are offered seasonally. The Petrified Forest Field Institute offers courses related to various history, archaeology, and cultural topics, and an artist-in-residence program brings a variety of multimedia artists to the park to create works and present demonstrations in natural surroundings.
1 Park Road, PO Box 2217, Petrified Forest, AZ 86028, Phone: 928-524-6228
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Connecting the Storage System to the Red Hat Linux Host. .... Hitachi Dynamic Link Manager for Red Hat Linux User's Guide,. MK-92DLM113. Red Hat Linux ..... Note 6. OPEN-3 VLL. SCSI disk. OPEN-3-CVS. Note 4. Note 5. 15. 96. Note 6.
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This guide introduces the OpenStack cloud components and provides design guidelines .... The default server configuration uses a plug-in with a specific set of.
Configuration Guide ..... Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop version 7 or above ... Consult your PKI/network security team to determine how.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Abstract. The Deployment Guide documents relevant information regarding the deployment, configuration and administration of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6. It is oriented towards system administrators with a basic understanding of the system.


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IBC UPDATES Co-journeying with our Community of Faith in 2023 Find out more.
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Are Power Service additives effective in biodiesel for winter operability?
Yes, Diesel Fuel Supplement +Cetane Boost effectively treats biodiesel blends and the directions can be found on the container label. Keep in mind that biodiesel can have winter operability problems at temperatures higher than standard petroleum diesel. Refer to your owner's manual for the biodiesel specifications recommended for your vehicle. Having Diesel 911 on hand for winter emergency use is always a good idea.


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Joaquin Rodrigo, Chamber Music with Violin, Eva Leon
The Spanish master composer Joaquin Rodrigo (1901-1999) is universally known and admired for his "Concierto de Aranquez," most deservedly so. But during his long lifetime he wrote a good deal else, and we can be thankful to Naxos for releasing a good bit of it. Today we have the latest, Chamber Music with Violin (Naxos 8.572648), which showcases the extroverted Eva Leon on violin, in one unaccompanied solo work, one work for violin and guitar (Virginia Luque) and four works for violin and piano (Olga Vinokur). The music covers a good span of Rodrigo's career, from 1923 to 1982.
Like "Aranquez," these pieces combine Rodrigo's strong melodic sensibilities with Spanish folk flavors and a sort of Spanish impressionist horizon, but they do so in ways more suited to the intimate chamber setting.
The works stand out in their own way as paradigmatic Rodrigo.
"Sonata pimpante" (1966) has a sparkling palette of cascading piano and exuberant violin in an unforgettable mix. "Set cancons valencianes" (1982) is steeped in Spanish folk roots with seven movements that captivate. The "Capriccio (Ofrenda a Sarasate)" (1944) has heroic unaccompanied fireworks unencumbered by the constraints of counterlines from chamber accompaniments.
The final three works continue the melodic evocations and folk strains, with guitar accompaniment on "Serenata al alba del dia" (1982); and a return to the piano as second instrument on the short but striking works "Dos esbozos" (1923) and "Rumaniana" (1943).
We are left after hearing this program with the distinct impression that Rodrigo was no one-trick pony, but rather a thorough craftsman and superb lyric Spanish voice throughout his career. These pieces are without fail miniature gems from a sure master of his own very original modern Spanish style.
Anyone who gravitates towards the "Spanish tinge" will find in this CD a delightful mix of memorable chamber sounds. Highly recommended.
Labels: modern spanish chamberworks for violin-piano-guitar, rodrigo chamber music with violin eva leon gapplegate classical-modern review, the chamber rodrigo
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"Now I know this is a white piece of paper, but in the process of knowing I re-configure the paper's whiteness".
Embracing my human, material and natural condition I focused my attention on the agents of production of knowledge that intrinsically intra-connect (entangle) us with the nature of reality to define the concept of "truth" and "real(ity)" as an enclosed human paradigm.
produced by: Julia Creuheras
Being drawn by the rhetorical premise and the seductive promise of most data visualization, to see from a god view, from the perspective of no person, of no body, I started a research journey on "the truth" of reality; on knowing from a distance. I had a suspicion that such a fierceful and gluttonous appetite would be satiated once I would have understood the patriarchal aim of knowing nature came from wanting to position myself on top of it. Overcomming that hunger, I found out being precisely the other way around; by embracing my human, material and natural condition I focused my attention on the agents of production of knowledge that intrinsically intra-connect (entangle) us with the nature of reality that allowed me to dive into a perspective of embodied knowledge, to define the concept of "truth" and "real(ity)" as an enclosed human paradigm. Placing the viewer back to the equation of viewer, viewed, represented.
Concept and background research
"To be entangled is not simply to be intertwined with another, as in the joining of separate entities but to lack an independent self-contained existence. Individuals do not preexist their interactions; rather, individuals emerge through and as part of their entangled intra-relating."(Barad,2017). Barad emerges as an opposition to Representationalism, which she calls it a Cartesian byproduct that comes from a division between internal and external, the viewer and the viewed, the scientist (including the methodology of his scientific practice) and the scientific matter of research. According to Hackings anthropological philosophy, representations were unproblematic before Democritus: "the word real first meant just unqualified likeness"(Hackings, 1983, 142). With Democritus's atomic theory emerges the vertiginous gap between representations and represented. Is a spoon a solid mass made of metal or a seething mass of entities moving in the void? The problem of realism in philosophy is a product of the atomistic worldview that comes from the ancient believe that the world is composed of individuals (with separately determinate non-relational properties) presumed to exist before the law, or the discovery of the law-awaiting for representation, instead of entities and realities emerging through and together, believing that what is represented is held to be independent of all practices of representations.
The critical examination of representationalism, such as performativity, emerged when the study of science shifted its focus from the nature and production of scientific knowledge to the study of the detailed dynamics of the actual practice of science. A performative understanding of scientific practices call into question representationalism's claim that there are representations on the one hand and ontologically separate entities on the other; which take account of the fact that knowing doesn't come from standing at a distance and representing but rather from a direct material engagement with the world. There are no entities awaiting to be represented by humans, there is no un-human truth that we can seek to understand as we actively intervene when we relate with the world. As Barad states, images or representations are not snapshots or depictions of what awaits us, but rather condensations or traces of multiple practices of engagement. Theorizing is dynamic practice that plays a role as an agent in the production of knowledge of objects and subjects and matter and meaning. So, in my mere opinion, there are no independent truths that we can passively reach but active entanglements with matter and meaning that lead us to a truth enclosed in the human paradigm. Haraway states that situated knowledge require thinking of the world in terms of the "apparatus of bodily production." The world cannot be reduced to a mere resource if subject and object are deeply interconnected. Bodies as objects of knowledge in the world should be thought of as "material-semiotic generative nodes," whose "boundaries materialize in social interaction" (Haraway, 1991: 201).
Scientific practices intervene and intra-act rather than represent. "The fact that scientific knowledge is constructed doesen't imply that science doesen't work, and the fact that science works does not mean that we have discovered human-independent facts about nature"(Barad,2017). Consequently, that which exists is that which we can use to intervene in the world to affect something else: electrons are understood as real because they are effective experimental tools, not because they have been "found" as independent entities. Representations aren't independent of the practices of representing; to see one must actively intervene: you learn to see through a microscope by doing and performing a set of complex rules, not just looking. As Bohr states "we are part of the nature that we seek to understand". Therefore, scientific practices must be understood as inter-actions among component parts that contribute to, and are a part of, the phenomena they describe.
It is not anymore about pointing down towards the thing that we're supposed to be studying but up towards our experience of it. As the double slit experiment shows (I will describe it in the next paragraph), the presence of the scientist intra-acts, intervenes and modifies the production of knowledge, and so, knowledge emerges from the encounter of the scientist and the light (in this case). There wasn't a wave of light independent to the scientist presence that he can seek to understand, because they emerge together. Bohr, would not relent on the validity of the profoundly new way in which the real was conceptualized by the new theory of quantum physics. Rather than the universe being filled with concrete entities that exist independently and whose motions and properties could be verified through experiments, quantum physics revealed that universe is a seething mass of probabilities brought to fruition only by the action of the observer. For him, we must accept the idea that reality is about interaction. Bohr argued that quantum physics not only revolutionized physics but shook the very foundation of western epistemology and ontology. As Komarine Romdenh-Romluc states "the sensible, - that which we perceive- comes into being through perception of it. Moreover, we perceive the sensible in response to a vague beckoning from the world. In other words, the sensible results from the interaction between the world and consciousness… on this model, objects are not green in themselves, their greenness is constituted in the experience of them…. All properties we experience are constituted in experience of them." (Romdenh-Romluc,2011).
The double-slit experiment (and its variations) has become a classic thought experiment, for its clarity in expressing the central puzzles of quantum mechanics. Particles (electrons) are localized objects that occupy a given location at each moment in time. Waves (photons) have an entirely different nature: they are not even properly entities but rather disturbances in some medium field. In the experiment a coherent light source, such as a laser beam (photons), illuminates a plate pierced by two parallel slits, and the light passing through the slits is observed in a screen behind the plate. The wave nature of light makes the light waves to pass through the two slits to interfere, producing bright and dark bands on the screen. If electrons (particles) are bounced, an interference pattern is also created which is how light would act. . Matter could exhibit wave behaviour as well as particle behaviour. Wave-particle duality seemed to be a feature of both light and matter.
But this is not everything; if we were to perform a two-slit experiment with a which –path device (which can be used to determine which slit each electron goes through on its way to the detecting screen) we would find that the interference pattern is destroyed. That is, if a measurement is made and it identifies the electron as a particle, as in this case, then the result would be a particle pattern. So basically, if a single photon is shot and there is no detector or eye looking at it, it will create an interference pattern acting like a wave. However, if there is an eye or detector looking at it, it will create a 2 frames pattern acting like matter. The study of the subatomic particles revealed that they could as corpuscular entities but at the same time they could show ondictionary properties.
Fig 1: Two slit experiment. Barad, 2017.
In the image above it is shown that if a single photon is shot and there is no detector or eye looking at it, it will create an interference pattern acting like a wave but if there is an eye or detector looking at it will create a 2 frames pattern acting like matter.
"The nature of this results means that the nature of the observed phenomenon changes with corresponding changes in the apparatus which is contrary to the ontology assumed by classical physics where an entity is a wave of a particle independent of the experimental circumstances and to the epistemological assumption that experiments reveal pre-existing determinate nature of the entity being measured." (Barad,2017) Because the experimenter disturbs the pristine system, Bohr argued, there are limits to what we can know about the nature of nature. To measure a quantity we must interact with it. The observer is part of the system being measured. He says we choose in advance how it will turn out by deciding how we would like to measure it. Concepts are defined by the circumstances required for their measurement. All the probabilities bar one vanish. Light is both particle and wave until we decide which form we want to test- then it adopts that form. Therefore something unseen exists in all possible forms. The universe operates in unseen ways, and we can only picture one at a time. "Since observations involve an indeterminable discontinuous interaction, as matter of principle, there is no ambiguous way to differentiate between the object and the agencies of observation."(Barad,2017). Clearly, then, as we have noted, observations do not refer to properties of observation-independent objects (since they don't pre-exist as such). "Hence, the only remaining possibility, if the goal is to determine the presumed measurement-independent properties of an object, is to determine the effects of the measurement interaction". (Barad,2017) The bond, the boundary between us and the Out There.
Before concluding, I would like to zoom in a practice of image forming called STM (scanning tunneling microscope) which outstands as a contrast to the era in which we live, where sight is hegemonized and seems to be the ultimate truth provider (The tradition of grounding our epistemological premises in visual analogies dates back to the Greeks). The fact is that it "forms an image in a way which is similar to the way a blind person can form a mental image of an object by feeling the object"(Eigler 1999,427). The STM, operates by scanning the surface using a "tunnelling current" to "feel" the surface. When the tip of the instrument is close enough to sample surface, electrons flow across the barrier forming an electrical current. As Philip Ball (2018) states this current gives a detailed description of the structure of the surface being measured. Seeing using a scanning tunneling microscope operates on very different physical principle than visual sight, it would be closer to making a topography of the sample. Quantum tunneling has no analogy in classical physics. To understand quantum tunneling, we must understand that particles do not have a defined position until they are observed. Particles are described by what we call a wave function. The probability of a particle being observed at a particular location.
By means of existing we directly engage with our surroundings, with light and matter and the quantum field and create a humanistic paradigm of reality. There is no independent reality reachable to a human being as the human interacts (and modifies) with reality when he/she encounters it. If the human being is not there to create it, the human paradigm reality vanishes to allow an independent reality to exist. So we are intrinsically intertwined with reality, we give and receive, we feed and are fed.
After all that being said, what is needed is a deeper understanding of the ontological dimensions of scientific practice. I try to move towards an understanding of theorizing as an embodied practice rather than a viewer trying to match representations to pre-existing things; as Barad says. Taking account of the practices through which representations are produced. To know a thing, I must intra-act with it, and after that, not much of what it initially was (which I will never know) is left. The aim of the piece I made is to reflect on the investigator's role as an instrument in the configuration of documentation. Putting the knower back to the equation and dis-focusing the attention on the relationship between objects and their representations but focusing on the ontology of what we can know. Bringing the observer or knower back into the world as re-configurators of it. We make knowledge not from outside but as part of it.
The observer takes part in the process of percieving the piece of paper, and as he does, he wrinkles the paper, modifying its surface and its color. The paper doesen't look as it used to look before the scientist examined it. However, the scientist and the paper have together, entangled, configured what we know of it.
Eigler, Don. 1999. "From the bottom up: building things with atoms". In nanotechnology, ed. Gregory Timp,425-36.NewYork:Springer-Verlag.
Cushing, James T. 1994. "Quantum Mechanics: historical contingency and the Copenhagen hegemony". Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Haraway, Donna. 1988 "Situated knowledges: the science question in feminism as a site of discourse on the privilege of partial perspective."
Barad, K. (2007). Meeting the universe halfway. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press.
Hacking,Ian.1982."Experimentation and scientific realism". Philosophical topics.
Romdenh-Romluc, K. (2011). Routledge philosophy guidebook to Merleau-Ponty and phenomenology of perception. London [u.a.]: Routledge.
YouTube. (2013). Surface studies with a scanning tunnelling microscope [english]
[online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNEqRq6NyUw [Accessed 1 May. 2019].
YouTube. (2018). Why Everything You Thought You Knew About Quantum Physics is Different - with Philip Ball [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7v5NtV8v6I [Accessed 25 April. 2019].


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Ep.- 30 Sticks & Stones: Why Chappelle Is Good, Funny, and Dead Wrong
On this week's episode of Kickin' & Streamin' Podcast, Graham & Jocelyn discuss comedian Dave Chappelle's latest Netflix comedy special Sticks & Stones. The two co-hosts start by acknowledging how Dave has always been able to be irreverent, controversial and push boundaries while being a highly thoughtful and intellectual comedian. However, we found ourselves getting uncomfortable by some of Dave's bits on this Netflix special and for the wrong reasons. Graham and Jocelyn also analyze and agreed with Dave's attempt at exposing the "cancel culture" which is very predominant in today's society, but they both disagree with the notion that some egregious behaviors by some celebrities should be acceptable, and Chappelle's argument in defense of people like Michael Jackson and Louis C.K. is reprehensible. The two agreed that even while being incredibly controversial, Chappelle manages to remain funny, but he also seem to understand how some of the jokes and subjects he jokes about aren't indefensible and plainly offensive. Listen to this conversation and tell us what you think on our website www.kickinandstreaminpodcast.com or on Twitter: @Kickinnstreamin and on our Facebook page.


Filmmaker Jamie Redford embarks on a surprising journey across the U.S. to meet entrepreneurs, community activists and ordinary citizens who are pioneering the use of clean energy technology, often in the most unlikely places, in the process creating jobs, turning profits and making Americans' lives healthier.
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Senior Lecturer in Social Anthropology – Roja Muthiah Research Library in Chennai, India
Dr Stephen P Hughes works as a Lecturer in the Department of Anthropology and Sociology at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. He has just returned from fifteen months working in India, conducting research into the social history of Tamil cinema during the 1940s in Southern India at the Chennai-based Roja Muthiah Research Library (RMRL).
Chennai (formerly Madras) is the established centre for Tamil film-making, and is situated on the south-eastern Coromandel Coast of India. It is a large commercial city with a population of 4.34 million people. The RMRL provides research materials and facilities for students of Tamil studies, and also houses an internationally important collection of books, journals, newspapers and clippings spanning the mid 19th to mid 20th centuries. RMRL was originally set up by the University of Chicago, but is now an independent research institution funded by a variety of sources including the Indian government. Dr Hughes recently spoke to Sarah Marten about his fascinating experience of working in India.
How did you plan your move to India?
One of my main concerns about working in India was to make sure that this would work well for my wife and family. My wife is also an academic, and she was fortunately able to undertake her own research in India at the same time as me. This took some careful planning, and we had to wait some time before both visits could coincide. I have two children aged five and ten, the younger of whom was about to start school in reception, and my older daughter would be have been going into year five. We needed to do our trip before our ten year old would be starting at high school as we did not want to disrupt either girl's education.
Planning financially for the move was also important, and we needed to make sure we could cover our UK mortgage whilst we were in India. I was not paid my SOAS salary whilst in India, but received funding from the US government as I have dual US and UK nationality. This funding was less than my UK salary, but once differences in the cost of living in the two countries had been taken into consideration, everything balanced out evenly.
Did you have any other concerns about moving your young family to India?
Health issues were another concern for us as a family – we wanted to be sure that our children would remain healthy during our time in India. Again, we need not have worried. In fact, we had far fewer colds and other bugs than we would have done had we stayed in the UK! Whilst travelling in North India we were particularly careful to avoid tap water to minimise potential stomach upsets
How easy was it easy to settle-in?
Having lived in India before I have many friends there, which made the settling-in process for the whole family go quite smoothly. My two daughters settled in well within a couple months and in fact they really thrived in their local Indian schools. The schools can be excellent – English is widely spoken and education is highly valued. My older daughter did well academically and came back to the UK not only well-educated (particularly in maths and surprisingly, French) but full of confidence. My youngest child benefitted from the slightly less formal approach in a Montessori-style school.
What about your accommodation?
Whilst in India we rented a flat in a small block on the southern side of Chennai, in a very pleasant and quiet residential area with tree-lined streets near the sea. When we first arrived we stayed in a flat reserved for visiting foreign scholars, and then found a more permanent flat via an advertisement in a local newspaper .It is very easy to find rented accommodation through housing brokers, which are similar to estate agents. Back in the UK we rented our house out to a visiting academic and his family, and this worked out very well.
Did you need a visa to visit India?
We applied to the Indian Consulate for research visas, which are required by the Indian government. The application, though quite lengthy was straightforward, and you need to show that you will be affiliated with an Indian academic institution. You also need to demonstrate that your research is properly funded. The visa took about a month to arrive once all the paperwork had been completed.
What was the purpose of your research in India?
One aspect of my research focussed on how films were circulated in rural areas; in the 1940s Tamil films reached remote rural audiences via touring cinemas. The communities were without electricity, and films were shown using diesel generators, at a time when many people might think that cinema was an urban phenomenon. My research involved looking at the business records of the film distributors in the Roja Muthiah Research Library, and I also worked closely with the University of Madras. Another part of my research looked at how local business people took over the Tamil music recording industry.
Do you face any language barriers?
Most of the documents I use at the research library are in English, probably because English was widely used following colonial rule. However, I have a good knowledge of Tamil, which is actually a very difficult language for Westerners to learn as the structure is so completely different to anything that we are used to. Having studied Tamil at university (as part of a graduate degree) I worked hard to further develop my skills, and became proficient after spending seven years living in India. Learning Tamil was worthwhile but challenging.
What is the HE sector in India like?
The higher education sector in India is booming. The reasons are two-fold: firstly the Indian government has increased university grants and secondly there is growing support from international business leaders in India's expanding economy. The number of higher education courses has increased greatly across the spectrum in recent years, including science, engineering and humanities. This is the opposite of the unfolding situation in the UK.
There are also concerns about the number of qualified staff, and India knows it will need to change in order to compete internationally. The Indian national policy since Independence was understandably to offer university jobs to Indian nationals only – I personally think that this will change in order for the Indian HE sector to remain competitive.
What about your teaching in India?
Whilst in India I delivered various lectures to students at the University of Madras within the Media, Film and TV department. One lecture was entitled "When Film came to Madras 1896-7) – the public lectures comprised of about 100 students at all levels including undergraduates and postgraduates. The HE sector in my discipline of sociology and anthropology is well-developed in Indian universities.
Within the Sociology Department at the University of Madras I also ran some discussion groups for postgraduate students, looking at issues including the sociology of film audiences.
How do you find the Indian students?
Being based in the UK at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) I am used to working with international students from all over the world, and in fact many come from India. At SOAS there are large numbers of mature students, whereas in India most students attend university straight from school, and they are tightly tracked by their teachers.
Indian students are hard-working and well-motivated – education is a high priority for families and many make sacrifices to send their children to university. Funding is available for some of the best disadvantaged students. A degree in India is seen as the passport to success.
The student's relationship with their teacher in India is formal and respectful, which is a notable cultural difference in India in comparison with western countries. When students are planning research projects, they will often be given the subject by the supervisor, rather than choosing it themselves. However, overall I have found that the Indian students I have worked with often exhibit well-developed critical thinking skills.
We made friends through our daughters' school, and found that local people were very hospitable and readily invited us into their homes. I had lots of professional contacts established during my previous visits to India and so overall we enjoyed a good social life during our time there. A social club with swimming pool near our flat offered more opportunities to meet people.
The opportunities to travel were superb, and we made several trips, including visits to Sri Lanka and southern India, visiting historical sites and learning about ancient civilisations. Madras is known as a centre for the performing arts, including classical Indian music and dance and we were able to attend several enjoyable concerts during our time there.
We also had wonderful opportunities to eat out and enjoy not only Indian food, but international cuisine from various places including Japan and Korea.
What do you enjoy about your work in India?
The whole experience of working in India has been an amazing one, both academically and in so many other ways for me and my family. My children have been able to visit ancient sites and learn about Indian history, as well as making friends with their new classmates. Their level of cultural awareness has developed significantly.
I enjoyed a much better work-life balance and had much more quality time with my family during my time in India than happens at home. This is partly because I have a long commute to work in the UK whereas our flat was very near the research library. I was also much more productive with my research than I have been at SOAS.
Is there anything that you did not enjoy?
For me, the only difficult part has been returning to the UK and making sure that my children were able to secure places in the schools of our choice. Our youngest child was not initially offered a place at our first choice of primary schools, although we were delighted when a place unexpectedly became available a little later in the term.
How has working overseas helped your career?
Since returning to the UK I have published work in academic journals based on the research I conducted whilst in India. I also developed networks with many Indian and other international scholars which will help me in my career.
Any advice for other academics planning to work in India?
Everything must be carefully planned in advance for your trip. If you are taking your family, you need to plan the children's education, both in India and for your return very carefully. India is very much easier for foreign nationals to live in than it used to be, and there are specialist organisations out there to help newcomers make use of all the available resources.
Dr. Stephen Hughes was born and raised in California. He completed both MA and PhD in Social and Cultural Anthropology at The University of Chicago, where he specialized in media history and visual anthropology with special reference to cinema in south India. In addition to SOAS, he has also worked for two years at University of Amsterdam on the research project on religion, media and politics in south India. Having lived and worked in Tamil speaking south India on and off over the course of the last twenty five years, he has conducted research on a various topics related to the history of film audiences, sound media, religion and politics of mass media in south India.


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Home National Obama offers hope to cancer survivors while Trump silences them
(AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Obama offers hope to cancer survivors while Trump silences them
Alison R. Parker
The GOP's latest health care bill would be a massive disaster for the country. And while Donald Trump is blatantly ignoring those who would suffer under it, President Barack Obama offered words of hope and wisdom to all Americans.
The Republican Party is like a dog with a bone, except the bone happens to be the health and welfare of millions of Americans.
The latest attempt to rollback Obamacare manages to be far more cruel and more devastating to the fabric of the nation than its precedents.
As Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut put it bluntly, the Graham-Cassidy bill is "an intellectual and moral garbage truck fire," one that "hurts millions, makes every problem in the health care system worse not better."
That's not hyperbole — a new analysis of the plan from the Commonwealth Fund shows that it could leave 15 to 18 million more people uninsured by 2019, a number which increases to 32 million after 2026. The analysis also shows that the bill's repeal of the Obamacare mandate would lead to a 15 to 20 percent increase in premiums within just the first year of implementation.
And another study shows that by 2036, Graham-Cassidy would cut federal health care funding to states by $4 trillion — yes, trillion.
It is thus predictable, though still reprehensible, that the GOP would do its best to pass the bill in secret, and to put on sham hearings and spend merely two minutes in debate, rather than actually listen to the people impacted by their horrible plan.
The party is taking cruel notes from their leader, after all: rather than engage with a cancer patient about her concerns over the Graham-Cassidy bill, Donald Trump actually blocked her on Twitter.
Laura Packard, a woman with stage 4 Hodgkin's Lymphoma, had regularly tweeted at Trump about the dangers of health care repeal. After she called him out for supporting the bill, which she said would "put America last," she discovered Trump had blocked her from his personal account.
But while Trump and the GOP are eagerly working to inflict untold harm on millions of people, and studiously avoiding actually confronting any of those people, President Barack Obama offered characteristic words of hope and wisdom at a time when many may be feeling demoralized or helpless.
Speaking at the Goalkeepers event hosted by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Obama recalled tireless efforts by activists from all walks of life to improve the lives and livelihoods of everyone around them.
"They knew that, at every step of the way, they would not get everything they wanted as fast as they wanted," he said. "They knew that progress required struggle and perseverance and discipline and faith. They knew that sometimes for every two steps forward, you'll take a step back."
But no one involved in the fight to pass the Affordable Care Act let that stop them.
"Against all odds, they made a difference," Obama noted, and because of that, "people are alive today ... That's progress."
Graham-Cassidy is just the latest assault — "the 50th or 60th time," Obama noted the GOP has tried to roll back protections for vulnerable Americans: "The cancer survivor, the expecting mother, the child with autism or asthma, for whom coverage once again would be almost unattainable."
"It is aggravating," Obama noted. "And all of this being done without any demonstrable economic or actuarial or plain common sense rationale — it frustrates. And it's certainly frustrating to have to mobilize every couple of months to keep our leaders from inflicting real human suffering on our constituents."
"But typically, that's how progress is won, and how progress is maintained," he added, urging people to "roll up [their] sleeves and work."
To younger folks who may be experiencing the difficult of confronting such a challenge for the first time, Obama explained that "that's the test — the test is not how do you feel when things are going good ... the test is when you're in the field and you're on the ground and you are doing work and people are resisting, or misunderstanding, or purposely undermining efforts that you know can make a difference."
What should the response be in that situation? "To reject cynicism and reject pessimism, and push forward with a certain infectious and relentless optimism."
"Not blind optimism," he notes. "Not one that ignores the scale and the scope of challenges. But that hard-earned optimism that's rooted in the stories of very real progress that have occurred throughout human history."
https://shareblue.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/obama-aca-gatekeepers.mp4
The Republican Party has made it clear how little they care about what the future would look like for the vast majority of the country, should Obamacare be repealed and something as harmful and draconian as Graham-Cassidy be implemented in its stead.
Indeed, they will even admit out loud that the whole basis for the repeal crusade is nothing more than callous, self-serving political gain.
So listen to what they say and believe them — but listen also to what President Obama says, and believe him when he reminds us of the power we all have to fight back.
"Relentless optimism" has worked time and again in the recent and distant past. It can work again now and in the future.
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Reproductive justice and LGBTQ rights activist; freelance writer. Follow her on Twitter @alisonrose711.