text:
Home > September 2016 > John Brademas: A lifetime of public and private service
John Brademas: A lifetime of public and private service
By Dimitri C. Michalakis on September 13, 2016
John Brademas (1927-2016) In Memoriam
A reprint of NEO's cover story, May 2007
John Brademas is still in a hurry, even more so now.
He just celebrated his 80th birthday, but as he leads the way through the King Juan Carlos I Center at New York University, which houses his office (he is president emeritus of the university), he carries with him a folder with papers and lists of the things he has to do—in addition to the card he carries in his pocket of his daily to-do list.
And while he leads the way up the stairs to an empty conference room, he gives a brief description of how the Center came about (Brademas became interested in Spanish culture when he was just a boy back in South Bend, Indiana after he read a book on the Maya); how he convinced the sponsors on the wall to give their million-dollar donations (he was a prodigious fundraiser in his tenure); and while the conference room has an air of serenity (it has glass doors overlooking a garden and a portrait of the King) John Brademas is still ticking off projects, remembrances and facts as we sit at the table and he discusses the three-quarters-century of history he has witnessed and three-quarters-century of history he has helped create.
"If I am the first native-born American of Greek origin elected to Congress, to the House, Paul Sarbanes is the first Greek American elected to the Senate, and we're very close friends," he declaims, with a characteristic click of the jaw, his voice reverberating in the empty room. He mentions that because among other things on his to-do-list (the longer one in the folder) is a planned trip to Cyprus later that summer with Sarbanes, where both men will accept official honors from the Cyprus government.
That's after a preliminary junket to Greece his cousin Anna has booked for him "to attend meetings of the symposium of the Academy of Athens, of which I am a corresponding member." He will give several lectures at American Hellenic University and European Center of Public Law ("And I'm not sure where else she has me scheduled"). "After that," he reels off, "I should be in Salamanca in June for a meeting of the U.S.-Spain council, and I was supposed to have been in Tokyo this month because I'm on the US-Japan foundation."
The night before he was at the Central Park Boathouse for a reception, and he was planning to attend a reception that night at Hunter College "and the person who invited me is the son of a fellow Rhodes Scholar, George Steiner, with whom I went to Oxford. And his son is the dean of Education at Hunter College and he's going to be introducing a woman from the Harvard School of Education, and as a Harvard overseer, I was chairman of the Overseer Committee, so it's a kind of a sense of obligation that I turn up." That Friday he also has a symposium on the Spanish civil war "and I will talk about communists and anarchists. And then I'm going—" he shuffles through his calendar "—to lunch tomorrow with a famous scholar of the Spanish civil war, Gabriel Jackson. And I'm going to a dinner with some Greek friends of mine–anyway, I could go on and on. And then I take off for Greece—" he resumes "—and I have lunch with Lord Patten, who is the former governor general of Hong Kong and is the chancellor of Oxford University."
Squeezed in was a birthday party in his honor at NYU, where they showed a film shot by CBS when he was first elected called Mr. Brademas Goes to Washington. "And they had pictures of my mother and father and me in South Bend saying goodbye. And then my arriving in Washington, and of my talking with President Truman. I attended a breakfast in the old Supreme Court chamber for the newly-elected Democratic members of the House of Representatives. Speaker Rayburn was our host, and among the special guests was former president Harry Truman. So I went up to him and introduced myself and I said, Mr. President, I'm being followed around by a cameraman who's doing a film for young people, which I thought would touch Mr. Truman, which it did, on how a new member gets into the system, and I'd be very grateful, Mr. President, if you'd step outside and let me ask your advice for a freshman member of Congress. And Truman said, always vote with the leadership. So we stepped outside, put the microphones on, and I said with great dignity, Mr. President, you've been a great President of our country, what advice would you have for a freshman member of Congress? And without missing a beat, President Truman said, always vote in the public interest."
Which reminds him of a story about his birthday and LBJ. "Phone rings. Mr. Brademas? Yes. This is the White House, just a minute, here's the president. That familiar voice comes on. Johnny? The only person who I ever let call me Johnny. I see it's your birthday. If I'd have thought about it, I would have spent 40 cents on you. I know that young fellows like you could be out making a lot of money, but you prefer to serve your country and I want you to know I appreciate it." Brademas pauses, just for a second, to smile. "It's a pretty nice birthday present."
And a fitting one (caught on tape by Johnson and now characteristically among the Brademas archives, of which there are 500 boxes just of his congressional papers alone) for a man who may be among the most notable men of public and private service in American history.
"I must have been about eight years old, standing on the front porch of my hometown of South Bend, Indiana," he remembers of the moment he first heard the calling, as he conjures up visions of a sepia-toned America. "And I was waving at an open car bearing President Franklin Roosevelt to the University of Notre Dame to receive an honorary degree."
His father Stephen had immigrated from Kalamata, Greece and ran a restaurant in Mishawaka, Indiana, his mother was named after Dante's beloved, Beatrice Cenci, and she was a schoolteacher. "Her father was a history professor and taught classics," says Brademas. "And as a schoolboy, my two brothers and my sister and I would spend the summers in a small central Indiana town of Chester Goble, had a library of about 7,000 books. And we lived in that library; we grew up in that library." (The book he read on the Maya made him vow to "be a Mayan archaeologist. So I took Spanish classes in school and then as a high school senior I hitchhiked with a classmate to Mexico").
Though Brademas was raised a Methodist, "My father inspired in us a great respect for our Hellenic origins," he says. "When I would go to school and the other students would talk about their backgrounds, I could say, Well, my ancestors were Plato and Aristotle, what about yours?" In fact, his father had a motto that his son still quotes to this day in his speeches: "We Greeks invented democracy; some of us should practice it."
Brademas was a natural politician and he practiced it from the start. "Even as a schoolboy I was active in the student council," he says. "And in high school at South Bend Central High, I organized a mock national convention and brought together delegates from the other high schools for a mock national convention." He went on to Harvard and then Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, "and at Oxford, I organized a mock Democratic national convention in 1952 and I wrote an essay for an Oxford undergrad paper, The Guardian, called "Why I'm Voting Democratic in November."
It was a plea for the election of Adlai Stevenson as president, and the young politician sent copies to the candidate and to the office of Paul M. Butler, a South Bend lawyer who was the Democratic national committeeman for the state of Indiana. "And in 1953, when I was home in South Bend, I went to call on the most important Democratic in the district-and that was Paul Butler, and he remembered the article."
He got more than 49% of the vote in that first campaign, but he lost by 2000 votes in a three-way race and he "knew coming so close that I would run again." He bided his time by working for Stevenson in the summer of '55 as his head of research on the issues ("And that was fascinating. I was the liaison to people like Paul Samuelson, John Kenneth Galbraith, Arthur Schlesinger–whose memorial I attended earlier this week"). And then he ran again in '56—"and in '56 both Adlai Stevenson and John Brademas were a second time defeated. And I thought," he says, "well here I am, I'm not yet thirty years old and I've twice been defeated for Congress–but I still thought I could win."
Why politics, when as a Harvard graduate and Rhodes Scholar he could have written his own ticket? "I had strong convictions about the importance of politics," he says. "Although my father was Greek Orthodox, I grew up in the Methodist church, which has a strong tradition of working for social justice. My late father told me when I was a child of how the Ku Klux Klan, which was important in Indiana at the time, had boycotted his restaurant in Mishawaka because he was not a WASP: a white, Anglo-Saxon Protestant."
After high school, Brademas joined the Navy because the war was still on, and he was stationed for training in Biloxi at the University of Mississippi, where he heard the notorious segregationist Senator Theodore Bilbo give a campaign speech. "Bilbo was the savage voice of segregation in this country and he made a speech in which he attacked Clare Boothe Luce and 'those other Communists up north who would mongrelize the white race," Brademas remembers. "That made a big impact on me and a few years later, now a member of Congress, I stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial behind Martin Luther King when he made his famous 'I Have a Dream' speech. And I worked hard in Congress for the Voting Rights Act and for civil rights and that was part of my motivation."
On his third try in 1958 he was elected to the House of Representatives from Indiana's Third District (which he served for 22 years) and from then on Washington, and John Brademas, would never the same.
He served under six presidents, three Republicans and three Democrats, but he likes to quote legendary House Speaker Sam Rayburn on the role of Congress in the separation of powers. "Rayburn was once asked by a reporter, Mr. Speaker, under how many presidents did you serve? Rayburn: Under none. That's a significant story about the American constitutional system and the separation of powers, because in our system, unlike a parliamentary system, Congress has power to make policy, national policy, independent of the Executive Branch. So if a Senator or Representative in Congress is knowledgeable and skillful, and if the configuration of political forces at that time makes action possible, that Senator or Congressman can, without picking up the telephone to call the White House, write the laws of the land, and I did, and others did. When you're elected to the Congress of the United States that doesn't mean you're not supposed to talk to anybody else, any other public official, elsewhere in the world." Brademas visited the Soviet Union as early as 1961 (and reminded Boris Yeltsin of that when the Russian leader visited NYU) and he led the first congressional delegation during the presidency of Jimmy Carter to visit the People's Republic of China. "And I visited during my years in Congress, Poland, Hungary, Rumania, none of which was a democratic country during those times. I think it's very important, given that we have a separation of powers, where Congress has the power to affect public policy, for members of the Senate and House to inform themselves by traveling to other parts of the world."
And the young Congressman negotiated the halls of power with equal ease.
"Well, you must remember that when I came to Congress it was after my third campaign and that I had worked for a presidential nominee, my political godfather was the Democratic national chairman and I had previously worked on Capitol Hill. So although a freshman, I had somewhat more exposure to politics than other freshmen did. I felt a sense of confidence about what I was doing."
Particularly important was getting a good committee assignment and he called up the Speaker himself to get the seat he wanted on Education and Labor: "I was in California on holiday after the election and I telephoned Speaker Rayburn, and I said, Mr. Speaker, this is one of your new students. I'm on my way back to Washington; can I come by and pay a call on you? Wonderful, when can you come? This was unheard of—there were over fifty new Congressmen elected that year.
So I went to Dallas, rented a car, drove up to Bonham, his hometown in Texas, and had lunch with the Speaker and he showed me his library there. And then he said, Well, I suppose you want to talk about your committee? He understood. I said, Yes, Mr. Speaker, I want Education and Labor. The Speaker: Hot potato committee, hot potato committee."
But with the support of Rayburn (and old mentors Paul Butler, since elevated to Democratic national chairman, and Adlai Stevenson) he got it. The hot issue then was labor reform (Brademas had the Studebaker and Bendix plants in his district) and a young senator named John Kennedy was riding the issue in the adjoining chamber. Brademas had worked summers in the Studebaker plant and knew the issues well and "there were those of us on the House education committee who were sympathetic to Kennedy, including me. In any event, I got my feet wet as a legislator, not in education but in labor reform."
Brademas later occupied a subcommittee seat on an education subcommittee that Kennedy had occupied. "And I called on then-Senator Kennedy in 1960 and had a little chat. There was a kind of instant sympathy. We were both Harvard graduates, Bob Kennedy, whom I did not know at the time, actually attended Harvard with me. Senator John Kennedy came out to campaign for me in 1960. Then years later Ted Kennedy came and spoke at the airport for me. I've had these ongoing earlier this week at the memorial tribute to Arthur Schlesinger, who was on the faculty of Harvard when I was a student there."
Brademas soon catapulted to the leadership after Hale Boggs appointed him a Deputy Whip and then Tip O'Neill made him Majority Whip in 1976. "I had a very good record with Speaker O'Neill. For one thing, he knew that I had studied at Harvard and Cambridge, a district he represented. In fact, years later, I was elected to the Harvard Board of Overseers and I said to Tip, Mr. Speaker, I'm spending more time in your district than you are. Harvard works her sons and daughters hard."
Every Thursday morning at 9:30 the Majority Whip would chair a meeting of the Democratic leadership in the House and take a count. "And we would talk about the legislative schedule and the politics of it," Brademas remembers. "Of course there you would have the Democratic Party represented from Mississippi to New York. And the Speaker would say, I would like to have a Whip check on HR 12345, whatever the bill was. What that meant was each zoned Whip, and one of them was Charlie Rangel, had a card and on the card would be listed all the Democratic representatives in that zone, and across the top it would read, yes, no, leaning yes, leaning no, undecided. The correct vote would be yes, meaning, yes, you are voting with the Speaker. And I would say, Let's get a Whip check on this and get the information back by so and so."
He thrived in the system and was slated in 1980 to become Speaker of the House after both O'Neill and Majority Leader Jim Wright had announced their resignation. But he had what he calls a "marginal" seat that he won every term against the odds ("I ran for Congress thirteen times, and only once did the people of my district give the majority to the Democratic nominee for President. That was Johnson in '64."). Unfortunately, Reagan had his landslide in 1980 and John Brademas was out of a job.
"I enjoyed politics, obviously, and it would have been agreeable to be the Speaker," he says philosophically. "But I was a grownup, I knew how these matters went and I spent every day in Indiana reading The New York Times. And in the Sunday New York Times News and Review section there's the list of academic appointments, elections, health and medical school appointments and I noted one for NYU."
So the day after the election, Wednesday morning, he remembers, "I telephoned the then-mayor of New York City, whose Whip I had been, one Edward I. Koch, and Ed said, John, I'm sorry, what are you going to do now? I said, I want to be president of NYU. And Koch said, alluding to our just defeated presidential nominee, If Mondale doesn't want it, I'm for you. I was introduced to the chairman of the Board of Trustees, Laurence M. Tisch, and I took the job."
He found NYU "a regional commuter institution—by regional I mean New York, New Jersey, Connecticut—and my objective was to transform it into a national and international residential research university. The year before my arrival we had raised, I believe, $23 million in private money. And I said for what was then already the largest private university in the country that was not acceptable, especially for one located in Manhattan. So I announced a goal of $1 million a week in private contributions for 100 weeks and we did that. And then I set in 1984 a new target of $1 billion in private contributions by the year 2000—and we did that in ten years. With those funds we were able to carry out that transformation. I'm pleased that according to the Princeton Review, I believe, for the last four years or so, measured by the number of students who apply for admission, NYU has become the most popular u in the U.S."
He smiles, "And I know at least once a week I get a letter from some Greek American family wanting me to help get their sons and daughters into NYU. And I just say, Well, just make sure they're very good students."
Now president emeritus of the university (he retired in 1992), he's still very active at the school and his "major project" now is the John Brademas Center for the Study of Congress.
"With 100 Senators and 435 Representatives and without the strict party discipline characteristic of European parliamentary systems, it is difficult even for informed Americans to understand the U.S. Congress," he says. "So what we are doing at the Center is organizing symposia and lectures on the processes by which Congress makes policy and important issues of policy."
There was a lecture at the Library of Congress introduced by James H. Billington, the Librarian of Congress, and Senator Richard Lugar, former chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, who spoke on the role of Congress on foreign policy, and Senator Paul Sarbanes, who spoke on Congress and domestic policy. There was a subsequent lecture by Professor Robert V. Remini, author of a history of the House of Representatives; and a recent conference which included former Senator Bob Kerrey and former Nixon White House counsel John Dean. And Brademas now hopes to organize a symposium on the Speakership of the House of Representatives, "to which I would invite Nancy Pelosi, Dennis Hastert, Newt Gingrich, Tom Foley and Jim Wright, all Speakers, to discuss this institution in the American constitution because it's not really well understood."
The center is housed in the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and "is wholly bipartisan," he says. "I have an advisory council on which there sit senators and congressmen, sitting and former, Democrats and Republicans."
Brademas himself, of course, never sits for long. (His wife Mary Ellen is a dermatologist and he has no children of his own. They live in the residence across from Washington Square Park.) Near the end of the interview he's already checking over his pocket to-do list and flipping through his master list in the folder he's always carrying.
"I have plenty to do," he says, "and I have more opportunities to make speeches and write articles than I need. I think I have been blessed by the opportunity to have several careers. And now in effect I have a third life in a bouquet of various activities."
He consults his pocket to-do list, and we're off.
About Dimitri C. Michalakis
Dimitri C. Michalakis is Editor in Chief on NEO Magazine.


text:
William Merritt Chase: A Modern Master
"Hide and Seek," 1888
For years I've loved a painting in the permanent collection of the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC. "Hide and Seek," 1888, by William Merritt Chase, never fails to bewitch me: the play of dark and light, the sense of a photo having been snapped in mid-action, the feeling that you've entered a world that propels you back to your own childhood. You feel the excitement of the game; hear the tapping of feet on that gleaming floor. Yet the picture has a mysterious element, one that hints at thresholds, leaving childhood behind, even going through a final door into blinding light: is it harsh or benevolent?
"Portrait of Dora Wheeler," 1883
Enough of that blather. You get the idea. But while the picture knocks me out, I knew next to nothing about the artist. A recent Phillips Collection retrospective of this influential artist's career—spanning the late 1800s and early 20th century—was a revelation. Chase, an American who trained abroad as a young man, cut a dashing figure in his ornate 10th Street studio in New York City. Despite his eccentricity and reputation as a bon vivant, he was a devoted family man and a respected teacher whose Chase School became the Parsons School of Design.
The show—some 70 works drawn from museums and private collections all over the country— was organized chronologically and by subject: historical genre paintings, landscapes, the seaside, domestic interiors, public parks. All were delightful. But on my second visit, I found myself most drawn to Chase's portraits.
"James Abbott McNeil Whistler," 1885
"Portrait of Dora Wheeler," painted in 1883, was intended as an exhibition piece, showing off Chase's formidable skills. Dora Wheeler, a former student, was a textile designer in the same 10th Street building as Chase's studio. This large oil painting, with its thoughtful sitter and brilliant yellow background, won an honorable mention at the Paris Salon, but was generally panned by New York critics, as far too "radical a departure from convention." The image of Wheeler was thought to be "lost" in the sea of textured brocade.
"The Young Orphan (At Her Ease)," 1884
Surprise! I did know another of Chase's paintings. Coming upon his portrait of James McNeil Whistler was like running into an old friend. Bequeathed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1918, I'd seen it many times. In 1885, Chase, long an admirer of Whistler, paid him a visit in London on his way to Madrid. The older artist suggested the young Chase stay and allow time for each of them to paint the other's portrait. Chase's portrait was intended as an homage, using many of Whistler's own techniques and conventions: free brushwork, a somber palette, the figure floating in space. Whistler, though, thought it an unflattering "abomination," and may well have destroyed his own portrait of Chase in a fit of pique.
"Meditation," 1886
"The Young Orphan," painted the year before, is arresting. It's only paint on canvas, we know that, but we also feel that we are looking at a real person who once lived and is still alive somehow. The model likely came from the quaintly named Protestant Half Orphan Asylum next door to the 10th Street studio. The exquisitely detailed hair, and lush rendering of the chair is tour de force painting. The picture evokes the influence of Whistler and John Singer Sargent, as the girl floats in a sea of crimson, her black dress an almost abstract shape.
"Lydia Field Emmet," 1892
Chase also shows off his ability to render texture in "Meditation," 1886. The drapery in the background looks like watered silk, or imitates brushstrokes. This intriguing portrait (presumably of his wife to be, Alice Gerson, whom he married the following year) is done in pastel, not oil. Hard to believe. Anyone who's worked in the medium knows how hard it is to control, and how ambitious it would be to take on such a large, complex composition. I love the sitter's direct, yet somehow veiled gaze. She's likely thinking interesting thoughts about the painter.
Another student of Chase's, Lydia Field Emmet, became a noted society painter and designer of Tiffany glass. In this 1892 portrait Chase again defies convention by posing her much as a noble gentleman would be seen in a classic Rembrandt or Frans Hals, painters Chase adored while studying in Europe. In researching Emmet, I learned, as I has suspected, she was related to dear friends of the same name, descendants of the Irish poet and rebel patriot, Robert Emmet. I again experienced that sizzle of connection: yes, she's long dead and gone, but something in her gaze spoke to me. And I spoke back, telling her (in my head, of course) about the new additions to her long lineage who lived, until recently, not far from where her image now hangs in the Brooklyn Museum.
"Mother and Child (The First Portrait)," 1888
"Mother and Child (The First Portrait)," ca. 1888, is a dramatic full-length oil painting of Alice Chase and her first baby. The child appears about to wiggle out of its mother's arms, while Alice herself is a static, monumental figure in her figured black robe. She seems about to turn toward the viewer, and although viewed in profile, has none of the hauteur of Lydia Field Emmet, as appropriate for the subject. Despite its intimate, domestic nature, Chase imbues the image with a grandeur and solemnity which surprised me. In a good way.
Art historians may debate whether William Merritt Chase was an American Impressionist, or a realist, but it seems to me he was both, able to capture light and skew his compositions in interesting and modern ways while communicating a very real sense of time and place. If you missed the show, take a look at this video: http://www.phillipscollection.org/exhibitions
A very fine exhibition catalogue is also available through the Phillips Collection store and at Amazon.com.
September 15, 2016 /2 Comments/by Ellen Kwatnoski
Tags: The Phillips Collection, William Merritt Chase
https://ellenkwatnoski.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Chase_William_Merritt_Portrait_of_Miss_Dora_Wheeler_1883.jpg 953 966 Ellen Kwatnoski Ellen Kwatnoski2016-09-15 17:18:232016-09-15 17:18:23William Merritt Chase: A Modern Master
Play Ball! Baseball as Art Form
Dots Fine—Neo-Impressionism and the Dream of Realities: Painting, Poetry, and Music
Seeing Differently at the Phillips Collection
Terry Walz says:
I like very much how you describe the painting and what attracts you and also the fact that you've done some research on the sitters. I've seen the exhibit twice and agree it's a revelation about Chase as an artist. I do feel the portraits are somewhat influenced by Whistler, who was a friend and fellow artist, but I also enjoyed seeing the whole range of Chase's paintings, from the beginnings, through the Paris stage and later developments. He was eager to try out different styles of painting, and this exhibition shows that he can't be pigeonholed. Thanks for your thoughts.
Ellen Kwatnoski says:
And thank you for yours, Terry!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


My name is Rebecca, I am a mum of two crazy, young boys "Bam Bam" and "Nugget". The three of us live together in a little house on a hill in the South East of the UK.
I love, love, LOVE food!! I just love to create recipes and then eat the results. Although, not before I have taken many photos of it to share with you of course! All the recipes and creations on this blog are tested and approved by many members of my own family, which means you won't find anything here that isn't totally delicious!
When I am not slaving away over a stove, you will find me earning my green fingers out in the garden, usually accompanied by Bam Bam and Nugget. We don't have a lot of room outside in the big, wide world but we make the most of what we have got. We created our own little vegetable patch and we grow fruit too. You will find plenty of tips and ideas here for the budding gardener in you and lots of projects and ideas to suit smaller spaces (and larger ones of course, if you're lucky!).
I am not sure I actually have anything that warrants being called "spare" time, but in those seconds, minutes and hours away from my busy life at home, I enjoy photography, singing, horse riding and living every moment doing something interesting, because life isn't to be wasted.
I share many adventures, home tips travel and days out and other special things with the family here. I love to take photos and write about them, I really hope you enjoy reading.
You can "Like" This Little Home on Facebook or Follow me on Twitter. You can also find me on Pinterest and Instagram or subscribe to new posts via email.


9 out of 10 based on 509 ratings. 1,429 user reviews.
auto-files›Bikes / Boats›ChallengerWorkshop service manual Seadoo Challenger 2001 Operators Guide Manual includes maintenance manual, special instruction on maintenance, service manuals, installation instructions, fitting instructions, wiring electrical circuits for boats Challenger.
wwwrepairmanual›Sea ManualAll information in Seadoo Challenger 2001 Operators Guide Manual Download is based on the latest product information at the time of publication. The right is reserved to make changes in specifications and methods at any time without notice. This is the COMPLETE Official Service Repair Manual for the Seadoo Challenger 2001 Operators Guide Download.
The electronic product "Seadoo Challenger 2001 Operators Guide Manual" is dealer's software which contains full detailed information. We have the catalog "Seadoo Challenger 2001 Operators Guide Manual" in stock and it is possible to order and buy it now. Seadoo Challenger 2001 Operators Guide Manual - Auto-Files Select a 2001 Sea-Doo/BRP Model.
www›Search›2001 seadoo manualFind great deals on eBay for 2001 seadoo manual. Shop with confidence. Skip to main content. eBay Logo: Sea-Doo Challenger & Sportster LE, 2001 Owners Manual Paperback. Brand New. $29. Buy It Now. Free Shipping. SeaDoo Sport Jet Boat 2001-2002 Utopia Service Shop Repair Manual OEM 219100135. Pre-Owned.


text:
Your LEGO-inspired Halloween costumes
If you are like me (or most men over the age of 11), you have yet to settle on a Halloween costume. Therefore, in order for you to be able to say you've planned ahead, I've decided to track down some potential LEGO-inspired Halloween costumes for you.
These range from completely practical to not likely to be finished in the next 24 hours.
LEGO brick -- This appears to be a painted cardboard box with plastic bowls attached to the front. It's a clever use of things you definitely have in your house right now. Bonus points, if you build yourself a costume with studs and another costume with tubes. Here's more detailed instructions, that just need to be upscaled from a kid to an adult size.
LEGO Minifig -- Slightly cumbersome, completely awesome. It's the styrofoam head that makes this costume a winner. Imagine a life-size minifigure -- the only questions are visibility and how are you going to eat candy. Although none could top this to-scale LEGO Boba Fett minifig costume.
Now should you be against dressing up, I might suggest that you instead try a science project and learn how to install LED lights inside minifigs to create spooky Halloween decorations.
Photo by Dead Zebra.
Posted by Jonathan Bender at 11:09 AM 1 comment:
The title of the book
Grab a few bricks. (I'll wait). Build a small drum. (I'll still wait). And some drum sticks. (I'm used to waiting by now). Commence the drum roll.
The book has an official title... LEGO: A Love Story. To those who commented or e-mailed me other titles, I'm afraid you have won neither a steak dinner nor LEGO set. However, your entries ranged from amusing to very sweet, so I thank you for taking the time to think on it.
In related news, I saw the first artistic mock-up for the book cover and am overjoyed, as in hopping around the house with joy. Just a hint, it includes LEGO bricks, in some fashion. I know, hold on to your drum, right?
We'll be back to LEGO news tomorrow, this just seemed big enough to share today.
Photo by David Choe.
Posted by Jonathan Bender at 7:42 AM 1 comment:
We are all just players in the LEGO Universe
To those who would say it is LEGO's Universe and we're just living in it -- I'd say not quite yet, give it about a year.
Besides the release of my book in that time period, there's also going to be the unveiling of the Massive Multiplayer Online game -- LEGO Universe. And that means details and screen captures keep rolling out on what the minifig-as-avatar world will look like.
The blog Destructoid compares the game to Zelda with regard to mission characteristics and the "life essence," of your minifig. One of the most interesting suggestions is that the game will be linked to the Design byME service, allowing you to have physical representations of the thing you build in the virtual universe.
It's a smart business strategy, kind of the brick equivalent of Webkinz. And like James May's LEGO house it moves us a step closer to having a LEGO-based world offline.
Posted by Jonathan Bender at 9:15 AM No comments:
Customization and Design byME
The world of customized sets has arrived with LEGO Factory becoming Design byME this month.
In addition to being able to digitally design sets, visitors to LEGO.com will be able to pick the box and can choose to include printed instructions. So, if you dream of being a LEGO set designer, here's your opportunity to be one.
In a recent article on Twitter, The New York Times suggests that this as a move by LEGO to offload the design costs on fans. While there may be some side benefit to having a group of people creating new designs -- the reality is that both the brick palate available and LEGO's Research and Development cycle mean that LEGO is several years ahead when it comes to design. So, although fan-designed sets may be highlighted, I don't believe they'll be driving LEGO's set choices beyond some data mining as to the popularity of certain themes.
Overall this is a win for fans -- the chance to make customized sets and dream for a day that LEGO has hired you as a set designer.
LEGO Meets Reality Television
The following news will be extremely exciting for some and a sign to others that it's time to move on to another hobby -- LEGO is apparently destined for reality television.
Variety is reporting that producer Scott Messick will partner with LEGO on a series of potential reality television shows that have building with LEGO bricks at the center of a competition-style program.
The three possible types of shows that Variety details are a children's gameshow, docuseries that follows master model builders to site builds, and a potential competition/elimination style contest filmed at LEGOLAND. I'll readily admit that I could be the target demographic for all three of those shows.
While this seems like a project in the initial stages, I'd bet the competition style series could be the first to move forward, given it's single location and Messick's background -- his credits include "Pros vs. Joes" and "Shaq Vs." Therefore, it seems like "Man vs. LEGO," would be a natural fit for his portfolio.
Photo via LEGO Block Block.
Posted by Jonathan Bender at 11:13 AM No comments:
Inside the LEGO Concept Room
Whether it stems back to childhood or is merely a byproduct of human curiosity, it is always fun to find out what is behind a closely guarded secret.
Two British newspapers have accounts of the world inside the LEGO Concept Lab -- and they didn't have to suspend Tom Cruise from a cable to get it. While both are scrubbed versions (and sans photos) of what everybody would really like to see -- the LEGO products that are several years out -- it's still a fascinating look into the research and development arm of the popular toy manufacturer.
The Telegraph talks to LEGO board game designer Cephas Howard, who jokes that working for LEGO was like joining a secret government agency. And the Mirror actually gets in behind the reinforced steel door after waiting 20 minutes for security clearance.
Photo by mmahaffie (not the actual door)
Well, Sir...It's Steampunk
One of the most interesting things about what people choose to build with LEGO bricks is that it often highlights their other interests. It's as if LEGO is a way to unlock or highlight a portion of their personality.
Speckyboy Design Magazine has posted a series of photos from builder Guy Himber -- who has made a series of incredible Steampunk-inspired ships and scenes. Himber manages to capture the spirit of Steampunk via some very creative uses of pieces.
While his airships and characters are engagin, I'm just waiting for him to build the time-traveling train from Back to the Future 3: The Return (Again) of The Future.
Photo by ChocolateFrogs.
Never a Hoarder, Always a Recycler
I've never been one to hang on to possessions (comfortable worn-in shoes or jeans, being the sole exceptions). But now, I find myself obsessively storing broken down LEGO set boxes.
Not because I expect them to be repacked with sets -- although if they were to continually fill with LEGO bricks each night like a magic purse, I would be fine with that development -- but because I can't bring myself to put them in the recycling bin.
I will occasionally look at the boxes, but on the whole they just stand silent and stacked on the floor and shelves of my office. At some point, I'll imagine guests will be weaving through piles -- like old and yellowing newspapers -- as I call to them Marco Polo-style from my office chair.
I had a friend who once ringed his room with empty Snapple bottles and when I asked him why. He simply said, "I like Snapple." He also explained how it's harder to throw away the empties once you've started to collect them. But is it two or 20 the moment when your collection starts? Either way, at this point I've become a collector of boxes.
Posted by Jonathan Bender at 8:00 AM 2 comments:
A Changing of The Liquor Guard
There comes a time when everybody has to put away their toys. My wife has been tolerant of the rotating LEGO exhibit atop the bookshelf in the kitchen and the wine bar in the dining room.
But on Sunday, she made a request that she hasn't made for at least six months -- and when your spouse asks you to pick up your toys, you do it. And so the stegosaurus with the drooping head will be parted out, the mad scientist vignette is safely ensconced in Tupperware, and the pirates will no longer be guarding the rum. As to the pirates, perhaps that is a good situation. Pirates make for terrible rum guardians.
The thing that my wife doesn't know is that by asking me to put away my old builds, she has inspired me to build something new, that will have to take it's place. I wonder if the Space Police might be better protectors of the spirits.
I keep seeing this yellow cyclops-like guy shiftily walking around our dining room. And I know he's not going to buy anything because we don't have anything for sale. Odds are he's just going to try to sneak out with a bottle under his coat and escape in some sort of space speeder or ship.
I is for...
Each month a new entry into the Brick Encyclopedia arrives at your door like a weary Encyclopedia Britannica Salesman, filled with arcane facts and pictures to enjoy. Here is the entry exploring the many iterations of "I" in the world of LEGO:
I is for... Insectoids. These neon bug-based Space sets from the 90's had the same camp as Starship Troopers -- but sadly did not include Neil Patrick Harris minifigs.
I is for...Ice Planet. Before there was Hoth, there was this space sub-theme that debuted last decade and came back in 2002.
I is for...Impulse sets. Otherwise known as me sets -- these are small sets (usually a minifig and a set piece/small vehicle) that are less than $5. In a hobby/obsession/pursuit like LEGO fandom, the concept of impulse control is one that is lost on most of the participants.
I is for...Ice Cube Tray. Man needed a better ice cube. LEGO delivered on that promise with a silicone mold that offers up bricks with studs. You shouldn't play with your food, but drinks are now officially in play.
Is is for...Indiana Jones. This is the minifig (which debuted in 2008) that made me understand the allure of collecting minifigs. The coolest guy to ever rock a messenger bag.
The sounds of silence
I never thought much about toys that require you to provide your own noises until our house became awash in baby toys.
Between swings that play a series of notes as repetitive as the piano song in Goonies to play mats that offers a plush butterfly requiring you press it's wings each 15 seconds in a Pavlovian cry for an 80's synthesizer beat -- we're hanging on by a thread musically in the Bender household.
And so despite not being a clock watcher, I've started the countdown until DUPLO can be safely played with by the baby (and me). I just need some slight improvement in my motor skills and I have to learn that toys are for playing, not eating. After that, we'll be good to go.
And the beauty of DUPLO is that I get to add the soundtrack for playing -- meaning everything from rocket ship noises to the theme from Bonanza. While the sounds we're listening to may not improve, at least they will be our own.
Graveyards and Demolitions
One of the most interesting places I visited over the course of researching the book was the graveyard at LEGOLAND California. It's a spot on the back lot of the park -- a series of wooden shipping crates (think larger versions of the Ark of the Covenant from Indiana Jones) where retired models, broken models, and prototypes end up.
It's the place that would fascinate and devastate most adult fans. Here you have discarded LEGO bricks -- ones that will be recycled, if possible, but are not going to be played with or displayed any more.
I hadn't though of the graveyard until I stumbled across pictures of the demolition of James May's LEGO House. These are not for the faint of heart. If seeing LEGO bricks torn asunder makes you feel weak, I urge you not to click through that link.
But for those with strong enough constitutions, it's an interesting look at the teardown of the massive LEGO structure. The process looks fairly similar to seeing a standard house torn down -- only rubber mallets are being used instead of bulldozers.
It would seem that a LEGO house was never meant to last because such things -- like Kevin Federline -- are simply too beautiful for this earth.
My endless (LEGO) love
There's new love, endless love, and of course, LEGO love. The first is sweet, the second is timeless, and the third is both.
The Model Building Secrets Blog has the story of Joe Sparano's proposal to his girlfriend -- which was done in a way that should make the less creative among us shudder. Under the guise of an anniversary picnic, he built and presented her with a series of three homemade sets that depicted their lives together. It was a fitting proposal for a couple that loves building and met on the job at Toys R' Us.
And because Joe's batting 1.000, you might want to take his advice. Luckily, he's posted photos for how to build a minifig-scale ring. So get out there and start looking for LEGO love.
Photo by Alice Rosen.
Star Wars, The Bible, and BrickCon
Fridays, like Jambo Safari, are for round-ups. And so here through the magic of Google Alerts and a man pushing the button every 108 minutes in the hopes of avoiding a blackout for 137 seconds are the latest LEGO finds.
The first is a review from Wired of Lego Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary -- a compendium of LEGO sets, facts, and movie descriptions. And just like the Swimsuit edition, the other models were devastated to learn that Darth has secured the cover...again.
The second is The Huffington Post discovering the Brick Testament -- the Bible stories animated in LEGO bricks online and in print. The last Brick Testament update was back in June -- the final four illustrated stories from Revelation. Let us hope that this was not an end to the updates in a prophetic art and life moment.
And the third is from Fast Company, which has a sweet round-up of it's own, covering BrickCon 2009 in Seattle via photo slideshow. A round-up within a round-up -- do they cancel each other out? Or is it like when you eat the cow and only get 10 percent of the energy that the cow got from the grain it ate?
Toys and gender roles in Sweden
We should all be as courteous as Swedish children -- a group of sixth graders criticized Toys R' Us for portraying boys as active and girls as passive in their advertising. The money quote on the childrens' quest to eliminate stereotypical gender roles is student Moa Averin's contention that "guys want to be princesses sometimes."
The kids took their case to the Reklamombudsmannen -- a regulatory agency which monitors marketing and advertising in Sweden. The agency issued a public reprimand of Toys R' Us for the 2008 Christmas Catalogue.
In 2008, Sweden's Trade Ethical Council Against Sexism in Advertising argued that Lego catalogue advertisements showing girls in a pink room and boys in a blue room was sexist as well.
Now whether Sweden is more sensitive to issues of gender identity than the rest of the world or just overeacting is for you to decide.
Photo by bfishadow.
AFOLs go mainstream?
I've always viewed the world of minifig customizers and brick modders as separate from the world of LEGO-inspired crafts (LEGO cufflinks, earrings, etc...). But then I stumbled across photos from BrickCon 2009 on CNET and saw pictures of LEGO jewelry for sale at the adult fan of LEGO convention this past weekend in Seattle.
Does this mean that the mainstream has come to AFOL conventions or is just a question of a business opportunity? There is always a mix of hardcore fans and parents just taking their kids to see bricks because of public days -- when the regular folks are allowed into the convention to walk amongst the town and train, space, castle, and zombie layouts. And what might interest one group would likely send the other group screaming.
It does make me think about building a pair for my wife...
Michael Chabon writes about LEGO and creativity
You know you've made it when author Michael Chabon uses you to illustrate his point. So, if The LEGO Group was worried, it can rest easy.
Chabon's new memoir (in stores today), "Manhood for Amateurs: The Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father, and Son," is a series of slightly connected essays that assess his experiences as a child in an effort to understand why he became the man he is today.
In one of those essays, "Subterranean," Chabon attempts to talk about his life as a writer, which apparently began as an exhilarated child rummaging through his grandfather's basement. And as he delves into the genesis of his own creativity, Chabon wonders about the creativity of the next generation. To send home his point, he discusses the box of LEGO bricks that suggested open-ended play in his youth as compared to the ordered kits that stifle creativity and are dominant in toy stores today.
I understand Chabon's point, but the LEGO kits that exist today are in a far different world -- one in which the do-it-yourself movement encourages hacking and the Internet provides countless examples of alternative builds. So while he may contend that all of those resources end up limiting our creativity by focusing our imagination on something that already exists, I believe that seeing what others have done, only inspires people to further greatness and innovation. Also, it's a lot more interesting to build inside a community, than on an island.
And at the end of the day, whether you buy the bricks in a set or in bulk -- they all end up jumbled in a pile -- ready to be turned into something else.
Proudly celebrating Bricktober
Most of the time it just feels like we're adults playing house. I'm bad about putting away my toys -- there are LEGO bricks all around my office and the living room -- and we occasionally have ice cream for dinner.
But Sundays are adult days. We sit down with the daily paper and morning coffee for coupon time -- clipping and remarking on coupons like two fussy old ladies. While most of this settles on the mundane (would our dog enjoy a treat shaped like a football that tastes like bacon?) or the out-of-reach (I'm looking at you, oversized plasma television), occasionally you discover real inspiration from coupons -- like a sale on Precious Moments figurines.
And this Sunday marked the finest moment of Coupon Time in the brief and celebrated history of the weekend paper tradition -- the announcement of Bricktober at Toys "R" US, where apparently all LEGO sets are 30 percent off this month. Gentleman, start your bank accounts...
Photo by hyku.
BrickCon 2009 has begun
BrickCon 2009 has begun... it's fun to read that in an ominous voice... (insert ominous voice here, a la beginning of Laser Tag session or Mortal Kombat announcer).
The annual adult fan of LEGO convention in Seattle last year was the first convention that I brought something I'd built. The buzz on a convention prep day is perhaps the best of the entire weekend (sans the moment when The LEGO Group reveals a new set for the first time). People start arriving from around the world.
As LEGO User Groups and solitary fans wheel in container after container of what they've built on handtrucks or in hands. It is a visual tailgate, where your mind gets overstuffed on the creativity of your fellow convention participants.
It also marks a transition point. The convention is still private, but the public viewing days will begin tomorrow. And then comes the appreciation, frustration, and solid mass of people experiencing the joy of seeing just how much you can do with a few bricks and some imagination.
To those of you battling zombies in the LEGO Apocafest or building viper recreations from Battlestar Galactica, I offer you the same wish -- good hunting.
Photo by Dunechaser.
A crowdsourcing experiment: What's the title?
We're talking book titles today. Well, actually just one book title -- the title for the book attached to this blog that will arrive on store shelves on May 10, 2010.
There's a favorite -- what would be called the "working title," but there's also some room for imagination. So, this is my first attempt at crowdsourcing -- feel free to send this to the crowds.
Here's your elevator pitch: Journalist Jonathan Bender spent a year discovering the world of the Adult Fans of LEGO, while getting ready to build a family of LEGO lovers himself. And he never would have made it out of Malaysia, if not for his plucky robot sidekick, Glitchy.*
If it's in the comments and it's the title -- you're getting a free copy and a LEGO set in the theme of your choosing. If it is a pun on my last name -- you owe me a steak dinner and a chrome Darth Vader.
*Glitchy's not in this book. He's in the sequel.
Photo by Oskay.


text:
The Theosophical
Society in Australia
Brisbane Lodge
Home Who We Are Theosophy and The Theosophical Society The Emblem Freedom of Thought An Independent Society Key Ideas Education Courses Bookstores Theosophy in Australia Magazine Articles Science Other Resources Highlights Programmes Calendar Events LibrariesLibraries Periodicals Audio & Video Membership Contact
Other BranchesNationalAdelaideBrisbaneHobartLauncestonMelbourneNewcastlePerthSunshine CoastSydneyCertified Groups
Hilma af Klint Altarpieces Group X no.3 1915 Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
The older classical texts and modern expositions
expand your mind with these suggested texts
Some of these may be out of print but available at a library near you
Essays and writings on the subject of art and spirituality.
Life-affirming books by David Bohm, Ramana Maharshi, Aldous Huxley and others
A selection of books and essays on science and spirituality.
The Mahatma Letters
An extensive collection of texts revealing the meaning of The Mahatma Letters.
Explore the wisdom of mythology through the writings of Joseph Campbell, Carl Jung, and others.
Discover a range of books that explore the topic of ecology and spirituality.
A wide range of books and texts covering many different religions.
Reincarnation and Karma
Everything you need to know about the Wheel of Rebirth and the law of karma.
Healing and Energy Fields
Several books on the benefits of transpersonal healing and more.
Psychic Research / Anomalous Mental Capacities
A collection of books covering anomalous mental capacities
The Work of the Theosophical Society
A small collection of books covering the work of the society.
The Theosophical Society: History and Biographies
Explore our range of Theosophical histories and biographies.
Academic Works Related to Theosophy
Books on Blavatsky, Theosophy and the Esoteric Tradition
Dictionaries and Glossaries
Various books to aid the serious Theosophist.
The Secret Doctrine
Discover more information about Blavatsky's masterwork on theosophy.
A collection of texts exploring the topic of death.
Introduction to Theosophy
Open your mind with this collection of texts relating to Theosophy
A varied selection of books on the subject of Meditation.
For those interested in the science of yoga and its varied practices.
Further Studies
Enhance your understanding of Theosophy with this far reaching bibliography.
Letter No.10
Letter N0. 15
Letter No.7
Letters to New Members
Copyright © The Australian Section Theosophical Trust ABN 35 000 016 446. Apart from any use permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 all other rights are reserved. You may download, display, print and reproduce this material in unaltered form for your personal, non-commercial use or non-commercial use within your organisation. Requests for further authorisation should be directed to the National President, The Theosophical Society in Australia, Level 2, 162 Goulburn St, Surry Hills NSW 2010. The Emblem or Logo of the Theosophical Society, a version of which is displayed top left, is a registered trademark of The Theosophical Society in Australia ABN 899 22774 327, rights strictly reserved to the trademark owner. The Theosophical Society in Australia is not responsible for the opinions expressed in the various texts on this website. See also our website policy. All images used on this website are with permission of the creator and duly acknowledged.


Long-distance flights can be an ordeal for a healthy traveler but for people with chronic diseases sitting in a pressurized metal tube at 35,000 feet for hours on end can present significant challenges.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is one such condition. Even when the condition is stable, people with IBD – which includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis – run the risk of an exacerbation, and, for those currently experiencing a flare-up, aspects of flying that many healthy people take for granted – such as in-flight meals and quick access to toilet facilities – can become very important indeed.
However, thanks to an award-winning initiative from Takeda, flying with IBD is becoming a much less stressful experience.
For instance, after Sarah's involvement, the program developed the 'night mode' option; part of the app, it replicates the suffering of an IBD patient during a flare-up when sleep is severely disrupted. Today about 30% of participants opt for this extra mode. For Sarah: "The exercise needed to be as realistic as possible to be true to the patient experience."
It might sound like a simple issue – an airline got a passenger's meal wrong – but it can leave passengers without food for hours. "When you have IBD, you book your in-flight meal well ahead, often a month in advance, because if you can't eat on a flight or eat the wrong thing, when your immune system is already low, it can be a considerable health issue," says Gallo.
Takeda decided to write to the five biggest airlines serving Europe to explain the situation and make four requests. These included more detail of the food being served at least 48 hours in advance, more meal choices, greater visibility of the ingredients, and, finally, priority seating near the toilet.
FlyWithIBD was recently recognized at the 2017 Eyeforpharma Awards, taking home the Most Valuable Patient Initiative trophy. "There were so many excellent schemes with a patient focus at the awards, but I believe the judges saw that FlyWithIBD was a relatively inexpensive program with the potential to have a positive impact on the lives of people living with IBD. It was also very quick and simple – we went from zero to Go in two months. The key is to keep things simple and have straightforward objectives are easily understood by all sides," he says.


Here at Swift Brick Wall, we're here to meet your needs when it comes to Brick Wall in Alger, OH. You want the most advanced modern technology in the industry, and our team of experienced experts will supply exactly that. We will work with premium materials and affordable strategies to make sure you get the most impressive service at the greatest value. We intend to help you put together choices for your own mission, resolve your questions, and arrange an appointment with our specialists when you call us by dialing 844-233-1733.
You will have a spending budget to stick to, and you need to get lower rates. But, cutting costs should never mean you lose superior quality with Brick Wall in Alger, OH. We are going to ensure our cash conserving goals don't mean a lesser standard of quality work. Any time you do business with our team, you get the benefit of our own practical experience and premium materials to be sure that any project can last even while saving your time and money. This will be possible because we know the way to save you time and funds on supplies and work. Call up Swift Brick Wall when you want the right products and services at the cheapest cost. Contact 844-233-1733 to talk to our customer support reps, now.
Brick Wall are available in Alger, OH.
To make the best decisions for Brick Wall in Alger, OH, you should be informed. We won't let you make imprudent choices, as we know just what we are doing, and we ensure that you know very well what to look forward to with the task. We will take the surprises out of the scenario by offering precise and detailed info. Step one is to call by dialing 844-233-1733 to begin your work. Within this call, you will get all your questions responded to, and we can arrange a time to commence the work. We work closely with you through the whole process, and our staff can show up on time and well prepared.
There's many good reasons to consider Swift Brick Wall for Brick Wall in Alger, OH. Our supplies are of the very best quality, our cash saving techniques are helpful and effective, and our customer support scores cannot be topped. We will be available to serve you with the greatest competence and experience available. If you want Brick Wall in Alger, choose Swift Brick Wall by dialing 844-233-1733, and we'll be pleased to help.


text:
the indie rpgs un-store
independent game publishers, banding apart
Two Scooters Press
Elizabeth Shoemaker & Shreyas Sampat
browse the games >>
Do you like stories about happy, functional, well-adjusted people who fall in love with the right people, say the right things, and live happily ever after?
If so, this is definitely not the game for you.
It's Complicated is a about personality quirks, secrets both dark and embarrassing– but most of all, it's about convoluted, messy, compelling, and occasionally one-sided relationships.
This includes a screen-enhanced PDF with clickable links, and lots of highlighted additional notes which elaborate on key concepts in the book! It's stuff you can't get in the physical copy.
The Online Play Edition also comes with a java application that automates the game board and makes playing online much easier.
If you request it, this also comes with a plain, print-ready PDF.
It's Complicated: Online Play Edition
Elizabeth Shoemaker
http://dissolutegames.wordpress.com
No transactions happen on this site. This site merely hosts independent buy-now buttons.
All transactions are between the buyer, the seller, and PayPal, under PayPal's auspices.
Built by Vincent Baker on CodeIgniter.


text:
Difference between revisions of "Frederick Shirley Litchfield-Speer"
(using NL and SMNL templates in 2 places)
{{TabNaval}}
{{TabApptsRow|Preceded by
'''[[Henry Douglas Wilkin|Henry D. Wilkin]]'''|'''[[H.M.S. Antrim (1903)|Captain of H.M.S. ''Antrim'']]'''
11 Dec, 1912{{NLJul13|p. 278}}|Succeeded by
'''[[Vincent Barkly Molteno|Vincent B. Molteno]]'''}}
{{TabApptsRow|Preceded by
'''New Command'''|'''[[H.M.S. Caronia (1904)|Captain of H.M.S. ''Caronia'']]'''
1 Aug, 1914{{NLJan15|p. 401''f''}}|Succeeded by
'''?'''}}
{{TabApptsRow|Preceded by
'''[[Philip Wylie Dumas|Philip W. Dumas]]'''|'''[[H.M.S. Agamemnon (1906)|Captain of H.M.S. ''Agamemnon'']]'''
25 Sep, 1918{{NLFeb19|p. 725}}|Succeeded by
'''?'''}}
{{TabApptsRow|Preceded by
'''[[Edmund Hyde Smith|E. Hyde Smith]]'''|'''[[Sheerness Royal Dockyard|Captain Superintendent, Sheerness Dockyard]]'''
15 Apr, 1919<ref>"Naval Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). ''The Times''. Wednesday, 16 April, 1919. Issue '''42076''', col B, p. 7.</ref>|Succeeded by
'''?'''}}
Rear-Admiral Frederick Shirley Litchfield-Speer, C.M.G., D.S.O., Royal Navy (24 March, 1874 – 30 May, 1922) was an officer of the Royal Navy.
1 Early Life & Career
2 Great-War
3 Post-War
5 Service Records
Early Life & Career
Litchfield was appointed to the President, additional, on 7 January, 1905, as an Assistant to D.N.O..[1]
On 11 January, 1910, Litchfield was appointed to Vernon.[2]
On 1 January, 1912, Litchfield was appointed to President for service on the staff of the Inspector of Target Practice.[3]
On 11 December 1912, he was appointed in command of the armoured cruiser Antrim.[4]
Litchfield was appointed in command of H.M.S. Shannon as Flag Captain to Charles E. Madden on 19 December, 1913,[5] but this appointment was cancelled.
Great-War
On 1 August, 1914, he was appointed in command of the Caronia, a passenger liner commissioned into Royal Navy service as an armed merchant cruiser.[6]
He was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (D.S.O.) on 3 June, 1916.[7]
He was appointed in command of H.M.S. Agamemnon on 25 September, 1918.[8]
Litchfield-Speer was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral on 5 April, 1922, vice Crampton. He was placed on the Retired List at his own request on 6 April. He died aged forty-nine on 30 May on the way to Redhill Hospital, Reigate, having fallen ill after going to the Derby with his wife and Captain Willis of the Admiralty.[9] Cause of death was stated at the the inquest to be "the acute inflammatory condition of the lungs."[10]
The National Archives. ADM 196/141.
The National Archives. ADM 196/89.
Henry D. Wilkin Captain of H.M.S. Antrim
11 Dec, 1912[11] Succeeded by
Vincent B. Molteno
New Command Captain of H.M.S. Caronia
1 Aug, 1914[12] Succeeded by
Philip W. Dumas Captain of H.M.S. Agamemnon
25 Sep, 1918[13] Succeeded by
E. Hyde Smith Captain Superintendent, Sheerness Dockyard
15 Apr, 1919[14] Succeeded by
↑ "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Saturday, 14 January, 1905. Issue 37604, col B, p. 6.
↑ "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Saturday, 1 January, 1910. Issue 39158, col D, p. 10.
↑ "Naval Appointments" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Saturday, 2 December, 1911. Issue 39758, col A, p. 14.
↑ The Navy List. (July, 1913). p. 278.
↑ "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Wednesday, 10 December, 1913. Issue 40391, col A, p. 15.
↑ The Navy List. (December, 1914). p. 401e.
↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 29608. p. 5563. 3 June, 1916.
↑ "News in Brief" (News in Brief). The Times. Thursday, 1 June, 1922. Issue 43046, col C, p. 10.
↑ "News in Brief" (News in Brief). The Times. Friday, 2 June, 1922. Issue 43047, col G, p. 5.
↑ The Navy List. (January, 1915). p. 401f.
↑ The Navy List. (February, 1919). p. 725.
↑ "Naval Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Wednesday, 16 April, 1919. Issue 42076, col B, p. 7.
Template:CatRearAdmiral
Retrieved from "http://dreadnoughtproject.org/tfs/index.php?title=Frederick_Shirley_Litchfield-Speer&oldid=147051"


Cheap calls to Greenland from Hungary - first call is free!
You can call Greenland for 125 / minute to a landline and 156 / minute to mobile.
As well as using our dial-in number, you can also call Greenland directly from your smartphone using our free app. It automatically filters your international contacts, so you can simply call with a tap.
mytello uses dial-in numbers to reduce the cost of calling internationally. For example, if you have a relative in Greenland, instead of calling their phone number you would call a dial-in number within your country. Your call would then be connected to your relative in Greenland. The result is much cheaper calls to Greenland from your landline and mobile phone.
The calling code (also known as the dialling code) for Greenland is +299 or 00299. Good to know, but with mytello you'll never have to remember this, as we use a simple landline number to connect you to Greenland. You dial the dial in number, we connect you to Greenland and you save money on call costs. To learn more about calling codes, check out the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) website.


In 2016, Congress passed the 21st Century Cures Act. One of the more important aspects of the Act was to expedite the approval process for new drugs and medical devices. This Act has been a tremendous help in getting new Regenerative Therapies to market by reducing the regulatory barrier to entry. Even with the passage of the Act, Congress only reduced the need for clinical trials while also relying on patient input, anecdotal data, and observational data to help inform decisions.
Clinical trials are complex and that along with that complexity comes risk. For the sponsor, resources are limited both in terms of dollars; and, time (need to reduce the time it takes to get to market). It is important to focus those limited resources on the highest areas of risk. It also means that sponsors should look to partner with those companies that have expertise and bench strength in those critical areas that are not core to their areas of expertise. One of those areas is Supply Chain and Temperature-Controlled Logistics.
It is beyond critical to ensure that the material being shipped arrives in the condition needed to administer the therapy. There are almost an infinite number of external factors (light, heat, humidity, g-forces, shock, vibration, etc) that can affect the condition of the therapy. Having a technology platform that gives you visibility into the condition of the cells is helpful so that you can use that data to make informed decisions. The last thing you want to ask yourself is: Where are my cells? Using technology like Cryoport's SmartPak II™ Condition Monitor and Live View are tools available to help give you a view into the condition and location of the cells thereby giving you the ability to interject, as needed, to ensure, the cells arrive on time and in the right condition. These tools are helpful in reducing and mitigating risk in your Supply Chain. As biology continues to advance, the ability to see, in near real time, the status, location, and condition of a shipper is only going to be more critical.


text:
Home > Israel News > Business
Smart Court Serves Up Instant Review for the Tennis Masses
Israeli-developed system is designed to help coaches by reviewing players' strokes, recording ball speed and other statistical data and tracking drills.
Send me email alerts for new articles by Reuters
Serena Williams during a match at the 2015 Hopman Cup in Perth, Jan. 6, 2015. Williams' coach has 'converted' to the Israeli-developed Smart Court player review systemReuters
Dodgy line calls are the bane of tennis players from professional to amateur, but a new system to rival Hawk-Eye will allow club plodders and not just the world's elite to take a closer look at contentious decisions.
Israeli startup brings 'Matrix'-style replays to televised sports
For the love of soccer, a startup thrives
Is Messi tough enough to play against a champion Israeli robot?
Developed by an Israeli firm, Smart Court is designed to help coaches by reviewing players' strokes, recording ball speed and other statistical data and tracking drills, but it can also be used to call lines and identify service faults.
Until now, the dominant review system in tennis has been Hawk-Eye, a computerized network of six cameras that can pinpoint a ball to within five millimeters.
It has added drama to the grand slams and is a hit with broadcasters and spectators alike. But at an estimated cost of $100,000 per court, Hawk-Eye is only for professionals and the world's top tournaments.
Smart Court uses a different approach involving six permanently fixed cameras that record everything that happens during play. While less accurate than Hawk-Eye, it is precise enough to check lines and comes at a much lower price — $10,000 and a license fee — making it affordable for serious clubs.
Already installed on 80 courts across the United States and Europe, the system has drawn praise from current and former top players and coaches including world-number-one Novak Djokovic and six-time grand-slam singles champion Stefan Edberg, who now works with Roger Federer.
The coaches of Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams are also converts.
Chen Shachar, the chief executive of PlaySight, the company that developed the system, is encouraged by the positive feedback and has ambitions to expand globally, with tennis one of the world's most popular amateur sports.
"Our plan for the next two years is to install it on at least 200 courts and have between 4,000 and 5,000 smart tennis courts in the next four years," Shachar told Reuters, adding that revenue should reach $10 million in the coming year.
As with many of Israel's technological breakthroughs, the system is derived from the military, where event-based analysis of combat scenarios, particularly aerial warfare, is crucial for training. Some PlaySight executives have military backgrounds.
When it comes to using the system, players wanting to review a line call, a tight rally or a particularly great (or terrible) shot would go to a touch-screen console at the side of the court and hit review.
The screen would play it back instantly. The data and imagery can also be viewed over the Internet later.
While Smart Court is focused on tennis for now, Shachar plans to roll it out for other sports including basketball, handball and squash soon. Ice hockey and soccer are also potential targets as goal-review technology becomes more popular.
Israel high-tech
Israel sport
yesterday This is a primium article This article contains a video 9 comments 9


The best sprinklers and emitters are reliable and durable. Our range of sprinklers are made to perform in harsh Australian conditions, while delivering consistently uniform water distribution day after day, year after year.
Whatever challenges you're dealing with, from uniform irrigation of all crop types to frost protection, cooling or humidification, either in an open field, greenhouse or an orchard, our extensive sprinkler range offers a variety of different specifications and benefits. Our sprinklers are designed to address all your needs. Scroll down to explore the range.
For open field vegetable growers looking to achieve excellent crop uniformity with large and varied spacing above 10 meters, D-Net™ 3D-arm impact sprinklers offer maximum water-use efficiency.
The MegaNet™ has a pop-up mechanism that opens only during irrigation. This mechanism protects the nozzle and the sprinkler's moving parts, by preventing insects and dirt particles from getting inside the sprinkler and causing damage. It is also the only sprinkler that has an integral filter that protects the nozzle from getting clogged. This sprinkler creates gentle droplets of water making it ideal for germination. By splitting water into two equal jets, it provides stable operation while maximizing water-distribution uniformity.
This mini-sprinkler has an innovative rotor and water channel and a specially-shaped bridge so it can provide high uniformity of water distribution while being the most robust in its category.
It offers resistance against chemicals, fertilizers and UV, which minimises your maintenance and repair costs.
This bridgeless micro-sprinkler is specifically designed to operate in upside-down stands. It creates a perfect water distribution pattern with no drip-off that can damage delicate plants below. It is equipped with an anti-drain valve that shuts off when water pressure drops, so the system is always full and ready for the next operation.
It has been specifically designed to operate in upside-down stands. It creates a perfect water distribution pattern and absolutely no drops that can damage delicate plants below. It is equipped with an anti-drain valve that shuts off when water pressure drops so the system is always full and ready for the next operation.
It is equipped with an anti-drain valve that shuts off when water pressure drops, so the system is always full and ready for the next operation, allowing high-frequency operation in short pulses.
It's robust and long-lasting, and can withstand all climate conditions and exposures.


text:
Indonesia: Jakarta
Jun15 by JT & DY
Our night out in Singapore was the end of the first leg of my Asian tour and so it was time to bid farewell to most of my fellow passengers. However, six were to continue on with me and, for us, a good night out was to be followed by a long, boring day of transferring by plane from Singapore to Jakarta in Indonesia.
There was no time for exploration on the day of arrival in Jakarta but I did have time to do some reading about this teeming, chaotic city of over 9.6 million people. It's the Capital of the Republic of Indonesia, a country with a population of something like 240 million!
The rapidly expanding province of Jakarta is located on the north coast of the island of Java. Over the years, village after village has been absorbed in to this sprawling city which is built on a delta of 13 rivers that meander through the city! Fronting the city is the Bay of Jakarta which is known for its many islands, the "Thousand Islands" or "Pulau Seribu. To the south rise two volcanoes, Gede and Pangrango.
We only had time to see a little of this city; Chinatown, markets, a temple or two and then onto the old quarter of Jakarta, Batavia. That was the name of the city when these islands were under control of the Dutch East India Company. One of their ships, 'Batavia', was built in Amsterdam in 1628. Armed with 24 cast iron cannons and a number of bronze guns, it was the pride and joy of the company. However, it was shipwrecked on its maiden voyage and that was followed by a subsequent mutiny and massacre!
The city of Batavia was the centre of a large trading network. The Dutch East Indies Company had monopolies on the lucrative trade of spices such as nutmeg, cloves, black pepper, and cinnamon as well as coffee, tea, cacao, tobacco, rubber, sugar and opium.
Batavia was a colonial city for about 320 years until 1942 when these islands fell into the hands of Japan in World War II. After that, the city's name was changed to Jakarta.
We had lunch in the Batavia Cafe, a wonderful old Jakartan institution in the old quarter. Old world ambiance was recreated with leather chairs, dark wood paneling and lots of wall space covered in period photos of long passed away film stars etc. One thing that didn't really fit in with this ambience was the urinal in the male toilet. It was set into a mirror wall so one could observe one's performance – a little disconcerting.
I concentrated my photography on the market area where I had time to wander and enjoy the sights and smells and do a little people watching as well. So let's wander there.
A hand or bunch of bananas, anyone? The narrow lane-ways were crowded with people, and traffic!
The stalls here were full of tempting fruits and vegetables. Beautiful golden pumpkins…
pomeloes, a large, thick-skinned grapefruit-like member of the citrus family…
mangosteens, no relation to the true mango…
snake fruit, named aptly …
fantastic guava…
papaya, a thin wedge removed to show the magnificent colour of the flesh inside…
and colourful lotus buds.
Bundles of Lucky Bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana)… to brighten up home or office.
Shiny stainless cooking bowls.
An old lady sat at a gate… people watching; as was I.
A quiet little fellow, sitting on a sheet of old plywood, no doubt waiting for his Mum.
A couple of ladies, obviously from different parts of the country, but nonetheless enjoying each other's company.
Having chosen my fruits and veg, it was now time for some protein. Snails? Maybe not.
Trussed up crabs… still very much alive.
Any one for fresh fish? And they were very fresh.
A frog cum toad was still alive… but for how long!
Smaller frogs …skinned, 'butterflied', ready for the wok. Look like can-can dancers!
Peanuts, still grubby with the soil they were grown in, firmly attached to their shells.
Strange, aren't they? Nuts of some sort but I don't know what they are.
At the end of the market, a stationer.. waiting, waiting, waiting for a customer.
Bundles of brooms…brightly coloured synthetic and the more traditional variety.
It was all very interesting… but I looked forward to getting out of the big city and back into the countryside… and that was the plan for the next day. More of that anon.
← Melaka to Singapore
Indonesia: Jakarta to Pangandaran; West Java →


text:
Gustave Baumann
Hopi Katzinas, 1925
color woodblock print, 38/120, First Printing
12.25 x 13.25 inches
signed in pencil and titled with artist's hand in heart ink stamp
From his first years in New Mexico, Baumann was interested in traditional Pueblo and Hopi dolls and figurines, whose craftsmanship and childish delight combined with deep cultural significance in ways the artist found enchanting. He collected them avidly and became knowledgeable about their forms, decorations, and meanings. Among those he collected were the popular Kachina dolls, the representations of deified ancestral spirits (also called Kachinas) the Hopis believe periodically visit and effect our world. In Hopi rituals conceived to summon these spirits encourage their intercession - particularly for beneficial weather and bountiful hunts and harvest - dancers impersonate the Kachinas with vivid symbolic costumes and by performing specific dance steps. Traditionally during these ceremonies Kachina dolls are presented to the children. Carved from cottonwood roots to the children. Carved from cottonwood roots or branches, the dolls are gaily painted and decorated with buckskin, horsehair, and feathers.
The first woodcut representing Baumann's budding doll collection was Strangers from Hopi Land created around 1920. Judging from the number of times he submitted it for exhibition, he was proud of this print. A more ambitious piece, Hopi Katzina suggests how extensive the artist's collection of dolls had become by about 1925, and how the artist delighted in their every detail. The composition is simple and uncluttered, so as not to detract from the dolls' splendid ornamentation. The technical complexity of this print is outstanding, with its myriad colors and intricate designs. This woodcut precisely reproduces the artist's oil painting, now at the Museum of New Mexico, which is titled on the canvas "Pasatiempo." Like the artists of Santa Fe who organized and celebrated the annual Pasatiempo fiesta, Baumann's Kachinas assemble for their own festival, circling around to watch the performance of a troupe of acrobats. The gather dolls seem to come alive, interacting with each other, taking on human characteristics, and appearing to express their delight in the performance. A childlike tendency to humanize these playthings is common in Baumann's prints of dolls and toys and reflects something of the artist's character.
Source: Guatave Baumann Nearer to Art
Pinon - Grand Canyon, 1921
Woodcut in colors on Bergisch Gladbach laid paper, signed in pencil and titled,
stamp-numbered 42, with the artist's hand-in-heart inkstamp, with margins.
image 12.75 x 12 .75 inches
sheet 17 25 x 14.375 inches
Born in Madgeburg, Germany, Gustave Baumann is best known for prints made from his detailed hand-carved wood blocks.
His family emigrated to the United States when he was a child, and he grew up in Chicago. He returned to Germany to study in Munich at the Kunstgewerbe Schule and then took further training at the Art Institute of Chicago. He spent time in Indiana, and is much associated with the artists who gravitated to Brown County. In that state, Bauman made woodblocks illustrating work by Indiana authors.
Baumann and several other artists decided to see first hand the reportedly light, clear air of New Mexico that they had been hearing about from other Chicago artists, and in 1918, he settled in Santa Fe where, for over fifty years, he participated in the art community.
He created colored wood blocks from which he made prints, and also became a carver of saints and marionettes, working the the Marionnette Theater, and carving his 'little people'. He also did numerous paintings in bright colors.
His woodcut subjects include church figures, scenes of sacred Indian pictographs, and landscapes including the Grand Canyon.
During the 1930s, he was WPA co-ordinator for Santa Fe.
Peggy and Harold Samuels, Encyclopedia of Artists of the American West


text:
........................... ........................... ........................... ........................... ........................... ...........................
InstantDB Project
About InstantDB
Project Mail Lists
Short History
3rd Party Examples
CVS Repositories
About Enhydra.org
News, Articles & Events
On The Edge! -NEW-
InstantDB History
InstantDB will be released to the Open Souce soon, and as the developer community grows, this will be the place that those making outstanding contributions will be recognized!
Peter Hearty
Creator of InstantDB
Peter Hearty is the mastermind behind Instant DB.
In his native England, Peter, 38, is a man of many interests, including astronomy, cycling, and Roman/Byzantine history. But it was his desire and drive for programming in Java™ that led him to create the first all-Java™ Relational Database Management System, InstantDB.
Since its launch in July 1997, InstantDB has been adopted by thousands of Internet and database developers around the world. InstantDB was recently purchased by Lutris Technologies, an Open Source Enterprise Software and Services company. Lutris is committed to introducing InstantDB to the Open Source community, and believes the inclusion of the high quality InstantDB will add great benefit to Enhydra, the leading Open Source Java™/XML application server.
A Short History of InstantDB By Peter Hearty
It all started four years ago, when I decided to start doing some contract programming. I hadn't done any serious programming for years, and my skills were a bit out of date. I didn't have anything to show to prospective clients, but, as I was building, I determined to program using things I found to be fun (programmers like me have a very strange idea of what constitutes fun). I spent some time with Visual Basic and quickly tired of it. But once I discovered Java™, I was hooked. It's a very simple language - simple enough for most to understand, including me!
I set out to write a Java™ newsreader and started looking for suitable components, including a Java™ relational database. I was quite surprised to find that there was little available. There were some admirable efforts from a team at the NCSA, which had started an Open Source database called Decibel, but they ran out of steam. There were also some simple SQL parsers that used a variety of backends such as text-based files, but nothing looked like a real scalable database.
In my naiveté, I decided to write one myself. So the newsreader idea was shelved and InstantDB, my first Java™ program, was born.
In 1997, I assumed that InstantDB would be of interest only to people like me who were learning Java™ and needed a simple database with which to play. However, it quickly became apparent that an all-Java™ database also held commercial potential. A large, untapped market of startup companies needed a small, low-cost database to distribute with their products. Some companies need to be able not only to ship their products shrink-wrapped, but to run demo systems out of the box.
Existing database commercial license fees were too expensive and open-ended to appeal to small companies. Clearly there was a need for a fixed price, low cost, cross-platform solution. This was the market I decided to target with InstantDB: to this day, it remains InstantDB's main use.
I was also keen to see InstantDB used widely outside of the commercial arena, so I decided to make it freely available to non-profit organizations and individuals. These now make up the largest number of InstantDB users. Without the many helpful suggestions and bug reports from hundreds of different freeware users, InstantDB could never have reached the stage that it is at today. I owe this group a considerable debt of gratitude.
By mid-1999, it became apparent that InstantDB was out-growing my one-man business. I considered two options: either expand the company or make InstantDB Open Source.
Lutris Technologies, Inc. came along at just the right time. Lutris' proven expertise in managing Open Source Java™ projects--together with the companies need for a Java™ database--was to me a match made in heaven. Lutris and I quickly agreed that we would make InstantDB Open Source. I was to become an employee of Lutris and help maintain and enhance InstantDB. That brings us to today, and the exciting launch of this new InstantDB Website!
My philosophy: Keep it simple and if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Here's to the exciting future of Instant DB!
Lutris Technologies UK Ltd.