text:
Six things we learned about Elden Ring
More details on the collaboration between George R.R Martin and FromSoftware
By Andrew Webster Aug 27, 2021, 9:00am EDT
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Elden Ring is a collaboration between two masters of fantasy: Game of Thrones author George R.R Martin and Dark Souls studio FromSoftware, led by visionary director Hidetaka Miyazaki. With big names like those come equally big expectations, and the game has been hotly anticipated, even as players have seen little of it since it was announced in 2019. (The first gameplay trailer was revealed in June.) In many ways, it's a big departure for the studio, with a more traditional story structure and an ambitious open world to explore.
To get a better sense of what Elden Ring actually is, I recently had the chance to view a hands-off demo and chat with FromSoftware's Yasuhiro Kitao to learn about its development and philosophy. Here are six things I learned.
The world is huge
For the first time, FromSoftware is tackling an open world. Called the "Land Between," Elden Ring's fantasy realm is a series of dungeons connected by a vast overworld. It's a big change for the studio — and it involved a lot of iteration and learning.
"When we first set out, we knew we wanted to create a very large world, and have that interspersed with these legacy dungeons, that sort of structure," Kitao says. "But we thought the overworld would become a lot more flat and plain, and be there to connect these dungeons. As we built it out, we learned that we wanted the Lands Between to have a lot more character, and a lot more verticality, and more intricate design. So we ended up handcrafting a lot of this map, and trying to make it as interesting to explore as possible."
But it won't be a chore to traverse
One of the key tenets of the world design, though, is that the studio didn't want its scale to be a hindrance. Instead, there are a number of features — such as a Breath of the Wild-like system where you can drop waypoints on the map — meant to make it easier to manage getting around. Here's Kitao on some of the other new traversal-related features:
As we built out the open world, we realized we wanted to alleviate player frustration as much as possible with these large distances involved. We have our existing corpse run system carried over from previous games, but we didn't want that to be a frustrating or stressful aspect for the player to have to run all the way across the map to collect their experience points. So one thing we did was, in an area with a high level of challenge, we've placed these retry points — that's still a tentative name — and if the player finds that, they'll have the option when they die of respawning from the retry point or the last checkpoint.
Also, by opening the map, the player can fast travel to any previously visited "site of lost grace," as long as they're not within a dungeon currently. It just alleviates some of that stress, and having this burden in the back of your mind of having to travel all the way back to where you've previously been. It streamlines that a little bit. Of course we're conscious of the fact that the world is so big, and we wanted it to be filled with interesting discoveries and encounters. And so we're currently in the middle of fine-tuning that pacing and that tempo of what you run into out in the overworld.
You get a ghost horse
Maybe the best part of the open world is that you'll get a horse, called a spirit steed, to move around quicker. It looks cool and can even accompany you into battle. More importantly — as has been the case in games like The Witcher 3 and Shadow of the Colossus — it sounds like you'll be able to form a connection with your ethereal horse over the course of the journey.
"We hope that players can form at least a small bond with the spirit steed," says Kitao. "It is a unique creature that is inherited by the player, so it is unique to them. You can't choose or ride any horse in the game. You will be able to do small interactions, such as feeding it to regain its health and small things like this. Hopefully through this the player will be able to form a small attachment."
George R.R. Martin set the stage, but FromSoftware took it from there
Elden Ring is billed as a collaboration between Martin and FromSoftware, but the reality sounds slightly less involved than that. Instead of working on the game together simultaneously, Martin got things started by outlining the world and its history, before passing it off to the studio to make the game. Here's how Kitao explains the working relationship:
George R.R. Martin provided us the mythos for the world, which takes place many, many years before the events of the game, and really shapes a lot of the current state of the world and its characters. We think this original mythos that he created really had a lot of influence on our approach to the narrative this time. George R.R. Martin was kind enough to hand that over for us to do what we want with it, and Miyazaki has had a lot of fun playing around with that mythos.
We felt it was a really inspiring collaboration. When George R.R. Martin says "Okay, here's the mythos, do what you will with it," Miyazaki is just going to run with it. So he's really taken a lot of inspiration. Miyazaki has really been free to take his own interpretations and create his own characters based off of that. He's really enjoyed having this script as a backbone.
FromSoftware is taking a different approach to storytelling
To go along with this, Elden Ring appears to be a different — and more traditional — approach to storytelling for FromSoftware. The studio's past work, from Dark Souls to Bloodborne, has been defined in part by deep, convincing worlds that required the players to piece things together themselves. But Elden Ring looks to be a little more like a conventional fantasy story.
"We've always tried to make our games approachable and have interesting narratives, but the player has always been getting caught up in something preexisting, and been taken along for a ride," Kitao says. "This time they have more agency, they have more ambition, and an overarching objective within that fantasy. We feel like this will be very different to our previous titles. Instead of just being a sick foreigner who has come to Yharnam, or an undead warrior who finds himself in a bleak landscape, the player has returned to the Lands Between as a 'tarnished' in search of the Elden Ring's power, to uncover its mysteries. It's a very simple premise but it helps to drive that mainline story."
The monsters are terrifying
One thing that hasn't changed: Elden Ring still has the inventive and often horrifying monsters for which From games are known. During a brief gameplay video I witnessed gigantic dragons, a troll that look ripped from Attack on Titan, an unsettlingly stretchy snake-man, and a boss that looked like a whole bunch of dead bodies smushed together. At one point there was a giant bird with swords in its talons, tossing explosive barrels at the player. According to Kitao, the variety and creativity of From's creature designs comes in part from the studio's process.
What tends to happen is Miyazaki will provide some keywords about what sort of creature he wants, and then he'll give that to the design team. He won't start with an image. And they're free to interpret that as they will. That begins this collaboration between Miyazaki and the design team. This doesn't just apply to the creatures and the monsters, but basically all of the elements of the game, weapons, equipment, characters. It's a lengthy process, but we think the result is that we get things from each of our artists, working with Miyazaki, to create these things that maybe have not been seen before.
One example is the demigods, the boss characters in the game. The keywords for them were they were "Old heroes from the Lands Between." So we wanted them to have this heroic and majestic quality.
Whenever we have these design discussions, we try to have the game designers and the game planners involved. They're always able to watch how this design takes shape and how it's going to be presented in the game. And while the design does take precedence, but you don't want anything too crazy to break the game. We try to keep everyone involved in the discussion from the start.
Elden Ring is launching January 21st on a huge range of platforms, including PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X / S.
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View all stories in Gaming


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'One of the best 'how-to-do-it-books' of the last and present century.'
Posted on January 25, 2013 by Lost Art Press
For those of us with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge about traditional American tools and furniture, there is one name that makes us all tip our hats: Charles F. Hummel of Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library.
Hummel's impressive career as a champion for American decorative arts – as a scholar, lecturer and author – are the shoulders that many furniture-makers, researchers and historians have stood upon for the last five decades.
You can read a brief synopsis of Hummel's achievements here at Winterthur's web site.
For hand-tool woodworkers, Hummel was one of the first to eschew romantic prose about craftsmanship and rely on scholarship as he documented the history of the Dominy workshop in his groundbreaking book "With Hammer in Hand."
This book, more than any other before it, sketched a portrait of an early American hand-tool shop as a business and not as a quaint and faded painting of days gone by. Hummel pored over the ledgers of the Dominy family and had access to the entire shop (it was moved to Winterthur and is now on display) plus many Dominy pieces, which are also on display at Winterthur. (Psst, go visit Winterthur.)
So I was delighted and simultaneously terrified to see that Mr. Hummel had written a review of "Make a Joint Stool from a Tree" by Jennie Alexander and Peter Follansbee for the latest edition of "American Furniture," the annual publication of the Chipstone Foundation that is edited by Luke Beckerdite.
In his review, Hummel praised "Make a Joint Stool from a Tree" throughout the long-form review: "To this reviewer, Alexander and Follansbee's collaboration results in one of the best 'how-to-do-it' books of the last and present century."
Hummel goes on to state that the book is ideal for woodworkers and that: "The authors also do a great service to collectors of furniture, historians of material culture and of technology, and furniture scholars…. Their book deserves to be on the shelves of everyone interested in nonmachine-made woodwork."
I could not agree more. "Make a Joint Stool from a Tree" is a true labor of love that required decades of work, the construction of innumerable joint stools and trips all over the world to complete. We were honored to publish this book and are gratified by Mr Hummel's review.
The first edition of "Make a Joint Stool from a Tree" is available in our store and from the other fine retailers who stock our books.
11 thoughts on "'One of the best 'how-to-do-it-books' of the last and present century.'"
Ray Schwanenberger says:
Congratulations to all, what an honor! Now I must go order the book!
sablebadger says:
well deserved praise.
tpobrienjr says:
It would be fitting to have Mr. Hummel's review bronzed, or whatever one does with paper stuff.
Congrats to you and the authors! What a great review.
On a separate note, is Mr. Hummel ever planning to bring With Hammer in Hand back into print? There is obviously a large potential audience for him if he does. It might be worth mentioning to him now that you have his attention. Maybe he will let Lost Art Press be the publisher this time around…
JJ Natera says:
How about the electronic version?
I am trying to avoid buying more physical books
Yes, please bring this book back in print, the market is really expensive for With Hammer in Hand now!
John Cashman says:
To have Charles Hummel write such a great review must give you, Jennie and Peter an immense amount of satisfaction. I'm still waiting for this year's edition of American Furniture, and I will flip ahead to the reviews as soon as it arrives.
And for those of you who don't get the yearly American Furniture — what the heck are you waiting for?
abtuser says:
Yea, congrats to Peter, Jennie and LAP on the nice review. I never considered owning axes till I purchased the book, now, I'm on the lookout for some, and said wood.
Graham Burbank says:
Having read "Oak: the framework of civilization" and Rob Tarule's "The artisan of Ipswich" over christmas, my understanding of the process and the reasoning behind it is so much clearer. These two books provide the context in which the techniques illustrated in this book were developed and used in everyday woodworking prior to the 18th century. I obtained a copy of "with hammer in hand" through amazon last month, it is still available from many sources. The "eyeroll" I recieve when an amazon box lands on the front step is remarkably similar to the one I get with a lie nielsen box…
This sounds so familiar. append to that the rockler and woodcraft sales flyers hehe
Eric Bennett says:
Congratulations on the glowing review. Make a Joint Stool from a Tree is such a departure from any woodworking book I'd ever seen. I'm still amazed how a funky little stool has changed the way I see furniture and furniture making. ALL of my LAP books have been game changers.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


A Florida House committee has approved allowing guns in churches attached to schools or day care centers.
The legislation came about after 26 people were shot to death in November 2017 in a Texas Church.
NRA Lobbyist Marion Hammer told committee members the issue wasn't guns, but property rights.
Another bill approved by a committee Tuesday would prohibit school districts from barring anyone over 18 from storing a gun in their car on school property.


text:
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U.S. Attorneys » Southern District of Florida » News
Seven Individuals Sentenced to Prison in Multi-Million Dollar International Money Laundering Conspiracy
On May 30, 2018, Geannis Gonzalez, 31, formerly of Peyton, Colorado, Quiana Velasco, 35, of Miami, Jose Daniel Estrella, 38, of Hallandale, Pedro Reyes, 38, of Hialeah, Robinson Castillo, 32, of Pembroke Pines, and Jamie Vives Castillo, 41, of Pembroke Pines, were sentenced to federal prison for participating in a conspiracy to commit money laundering. Yesterday, conspirator Alfredo Tovar, 36, of Miami Gardens, was also sentenced to prison for his involvement in the criminal scheme. All seven defendants previously pled guilty for their involvement in the conspiracy, in March 2018.
Benjamin G. Greenberg, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Robert F. Lasky, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
"The sentences announced today stem from a pernicious scheme that was breathtaking in scope," stated United States Attorney Benjamin Greenberg. "Unfortunately, the life-blood of this devastating scheme was a steady stream of people who cast aside their respect for the law, in the pursuit of 'easy money.' As a result, vulnerable men and women throughout the country were stripped of their life savings. The U.S. Attorney's Office and our law enforcement partners will continue to bring to justice those individuals who carry out, and recruit for, similar criminal enterprises."
"Today's sentencings punish the defendants for their thievery and greed," said Robert F. Lasky, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami. "So-called white collar crimes such as money laundering should not be taken lightly. In this case, there were over 400 victims, including retirees, who were scammed out of tens or hundreds of thousands of their hard-earned dollars. The FBI is continuously adapting our investigative techniques to bring these types of offenders to justice."
According to stipulated facts filed in court, as well as facts presented at sentencing, the defendants opened bank accounts established in the names of shell corporations to receive the proceeds of various fraudulent schemes, including romance frauds, email hacking schemes, and inheritance and lottery scams, that victimized individuals and corporations across the United States. Once these bank accounts received money wired from a fraud victim, the defendants would wire the money to other accounts overseas. Victims of the fraud schemes included retirees and other individuals whom were defrauded of tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, including retirement savings and money borrowed from friends and family members.
After banks closed the accounts that the defendants had opened, often on suspicion that the they were being used for fraud or other illegal activity, the defendants would recruit other individuals to act as "money mules," establishing additional shell corporations in the money mules' names. The defendants would then instruct the money mules to open new bank accounts throughout South Florida in the names of the new shell corporations. They would also instruct the mules to falsely represent to the banks that the shell corporations were legitimate businesses engaged in the import, export, or sale of various goods. Those accounts would similarly receive proceeds from the same sorts of fraudulent schemes, after which the defendants would instruct their recruits to further wire the money overseas. The defendants received repeated warnings and indications that the funds coming into the shell corporation bank accounts were the proceeds from illegal activity. The bank accounts that were utilized by the defendants and the mules they recruited, received between $3,381,110 to $7,177,442 in proceeds. As a result of their involvement with this scheme, the seven defendants would receive a small percentage of these funds as their commission. Overall, the conspiracy included the participation of dozens of individuals and laundered money was defrauded from more than 400 victims.
United States District Court Judge Ursula Ungaro imposed prison sentences upon all seven defendants, ranging from 108 months in prison for Pedro Reyes and 80 months in prison for Geannis Gonzalez, to 48 months in prison for Jose Estrella, Jamie Vives Castillo, and Robinson Castillo. Quiana Vealsco and Alfredo Tovar were each sentenced to 60 months in prison.
Mr. Greenberg commended the investigative efforts of the FBI in connection with this matter. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared M. Strauss and Michael G. Walleisa.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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Cabinet Office on Gov.uk forms Published Date: 17/12/2020
The Cabinet Office has responded to a request for an official update on plans to retire the gov.uk licensing forms.
Information previously came through from the LGA saying that gov.uk forms have been tabled for planned retirement in March 2021.
The Cabinet Office has now responded to a support request saying:
"Thank you for your email, we are in the process of reviewing GOV.UK Licensing and transitioning to new arrangements.
"We are aware that GOV.UK Licensing is currently not fully compliant with the WCAG 2.1AA accessibility standard, as described in our Accessibility Statement and are considering how the service can best meet these requirements.
"We continue to work with government departments, including MHCLG, to determine the right approach and will keep you informed as to any developments."
The IoL with NALEO has written to the Home Office to express their concerns over the move to retire the gov.uk forms because these are heavily relied on by both local government and the trade.
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A title with a negative connotation. However, the article itself was rather bullish on silver.
On reading the article, you will learn that although the small London-based ETF had about 3.5 million ounces (99 tons) worth of silver redemptions from February, the larger U.S.-based iShares saw an increase in holdings of 563 tons since February, for a net increase of 464 tons (nearly 15 million ounces). While the smaller ETF now holds a mere 285 tons, iShares holds 5,928 tons.
I found it interesting that in choosing the title for the article, the writer emphasized the action in the smaller fund. The writer also chose to quote two industry players who have negative outlooks for silver.
However, to his credit, the writer let Jeffrey Christian, CEO of CPM Group, counter. Christian said he did not agree with this contention that silver's fundamentals are turning bearish.
In its 2008 Silver Yearbook, CPM Group predicted a third consecutive year of net buying by investors, with them buying a projected 74.9 million ounces of silver. In 2008, total supply is projected to increase 3.9% to 815.1 million ounces, while fabrication demand will rise 2.2% to 740.2 million ounces.
The difference between the 815.1 million-ounce supply and the 740.2 million-ounce industrial demand will be picked up, according to CPM Group, by investors. If investors buy more than 74.9 million ounces, we have upward pressure on the price of silver.
Additionally, the article discusses the differences in thinking about silver between Europeans and peoples in other part of the world. Europeans are not big fans of silver; however, North Americans, Indians, Chinese and Middle Easterners are.
All in all, the article's an informative read about silver. Still, I wonder why writers so often attempt negative spins on silver when the fundamentals for investing in silver are so positive. For an example, see my April 30 post Reuters attempts hatchet job on silver.


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Q: how to know witch button of three buttons is clicked full solution please android studio i have MainActivity and Main2Activity and Main3Activity in my project now in MainActivity i have three buttons like this:

package com.example.mrj.ewacalculator;

import android.content.Intent;
import android.support.v7.app.AppCompatActivity;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.Button;

public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {
    private Button button1;
    private Button button2;
    private Button button3;

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

        button3 = (Button) findViewById(R.id.button2);
        button3.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
            @Override
            public void onClick(View v) {
                openMain2Activity();

            }
        });
        button2 = (Button) findViewById(R.id.button3);
        button2.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
            @Override
            public void onClick(View v) {
                openMain2Activity();

            }
        });
        button1 = (Button) findViewById(R.id.button);
        button1.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
            @Override
            public void onClick(View view) {

                openMain2Activity();
                }
        });
    }
    public void openMain2Activity(){
        Intent intent = new Intent(this, Main2Activity.class );
        startActivity(intent);
    }
}

and in Main2Activity i have 5 buttons likie this "i put only one to try"

package com.example.mrj.ewacalculator;

import android.content.Intent;
import android.support.v7.app.AppCompatActivity;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.Button;

public class Main2Activity extends AppCompatActivity {
    private Button button1;

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main2);
        button1 = (Button) findViewById(R.id.button4);
        button1.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
            @Override
          public void onClick(View v) {

                }

           });

        }

    public void openMain3Activity() {
        Intent i = new Intent(this, Main3Activity.class);
        startActivity(i);
    }
}

what i want is in MainActivity After Clicking button 1 it will open Main2Activity and in this after clicking button 1 its open say Main3Activity and if in MainActivity Clicked button 1 and Main2Activity Clicked button 2 its open say Main4Activity ..... so MainActivity button 2 and Main2Activity button 1 is something deffrent i tried intent put can't do it properly
thank you all
this will help

Button1>button1=main3activity
Button1>bitton2=main4activity
Button1>button3=main5activity
Button2>button1=main6activity
Button2>button2=main7activity
Button2>button3=main8activity
Button3>button1=main9activity
Button3>button2=main9activity
Button3>button3=main10activity

A: I would suggest you revisit your design, I don't know what you're trying to achieve, but it doesn't look like the best way to do it.
Anyways, you can pass arguments to another Activity like this. Let's say user clicks on button 2 and button 3.
Main1Activity:
//button1 onClick
@Override
    public void onClick(View v) {
        Intent intent = new Intent(this, Main2Activity.class);
        Bundle b = new Bundle();
        b.putInt("firstPressedButton", 2); //Your first button pressed
        intent.putExtras(b);
        startActivity(intent);
}

Main2Activity:
int firstPressedButton = -1;

@Override
    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        //init activity

        Bundle b = getIntent().getExtras();
        if(b != null)
            firstPressedButton = b.getInt("firstPressedButton");
}

//button3 onClick, do similar for other buttons
@Override
    public void onClick(View v) {
        if(firstPressedButton == 1){
             Intent intent = new Intent(this, Main6Activity.class);
             startActivity(intent);
        }
        if(firstPressedButton == 2){
             Intent intent = new Intent(this, Main7Activity.class);
             startActivity(intent);
        }
        if(firstPressedButton == 3){
             Intent intent = new Intent(this, Main8Activity.class);
             startActivity(intent);
        }
    }

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Home City Ice Salaries, Bonuses and Benefits.
How to get a job at Home City Ice.
Do you work at Home City Ice? How did you find the job? How did you get that first interview? Any advice for someone trying to get in?
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What do you think - will Home City Ice grow fast? Are they expanding their staff? How does Home City Ice stack up against the competition?
View more Home City Ice jobs.


Wilson Pro Staff RF97 AUTOGRAPH. Gewicht unbesaitet in g: 340. Technologien Braided Graphite + Kevlar. The item "Wilson Pro Staff RF97 Autograph L3 BLACK" is in sale since Friday, December 7, 2018. This item is in the category "Sport\Weitere Ballsportarten\Tennis\Tennisschläger". The seller is "peter21111957" and is located in Calw. This item can be shipped worldwide.


Interview: CAMU Releases New Single/Video "Empire State of Sound"
Laura Dix: Sooner or later you have to just trust your gut in life. Who were you 8 years ago with the band Naked?
CAMU: I had the same dreams back then as I have today, they haven't changed since I was 4 years old. I have acquired more tools than 8 years ago. Back then I definitely got too close to the whole band thing and lost sight of the positive side of making music as the frustration kept building up. I did want frustrated musicians in their 20's do, I partied & played without direction.
The band was, unfortunately, taking one step forward while taking two steps back. I haven't lost my love for achieving the impossible, rather I have proven to myself that anything is possible, which is contributed to `finding my love for music again. Looking back to the last summer of NAKED I did know it was the bands end even tho I gave it my all, it was very sad to give in to the thought that a 12-year run was coming to an end. It was exciting to start a new chapter in life but at the end of the day had we achieved more success due to fewer curve balls I don't think we would have ever disbanded. I am very happy with who I am today compared to who I was 8 years ago.
I wouldn't change a thing. The next song in the trilogy called "The One You Leave Behind" actually covers this very subject.
LD: What would you say built and shaped you over the past 8 years of life experience to bring you to this moment?
CAMU: Living in the US has had a big impact on me and my life, it's such a different culture compared to Finland, anything is possible.
Meeting my amazing wife has had a big impact on me, we own a business we have created from scratch and we have two beautiful hilarious children. I have been able to sustain myself by pushing forward and working hard, something that is very prominent in the American culture. The last 8 years have formed me into a better version of myself, one that is way more rock and roll in many ways than the old eyeliner wearing me.
LD: Life can throw major curve balls- do you feel that this is the time and place where those balls can be hit out of the park?
CAMU: Yes, altho I'm not going to try to hit all curve balls, I let some roll right past me. I pick my battles and focus on projects that have a positive impact on my life and the people around me. Time, love, achievements, health & happiness is everything.
LD: "Empire State of Sound" really gets in there and shows the glory of NYC. Is this video from your hood back when you lived there?
CAMU: Yes. I lived in the East Village, loved it, filmed most of the video down there because the song is about the vibe and my personal experience while living there. I visit every year to go see friends I made for life. I'm sure we'll move back to NYC when the kids are a little bigger. I have an on-off relationship with NYC.
LD: Hawaii at the moment is home? What has living on the island and that lifestyle taught you? How has the time there influenced your music, your writing, your outlook?
CAMU: We currently live on the Big Island of Hawaii. Life on the island has taught me to be more resourceful, Today I am more aware of what quality over quantity actually entails.
When it comes to my writing I try not to waste time on something that isn't good, I just leave the song alone if it's not happening. Island living hasn't inspired me to write rock music too much, instead, I have written more across the board. I also work on music when I feel inspired to so, no point in forcing the music.
LD: Originally from Helsinki correct? Have you ever thought of moving back 'home' and is there still family you go back to visit?
CAMU: All of my family lives in Finland but today I have a family of my own as well. We were just in Finland last summer, it was great. A lot has changed. I hope we get to live in Finland at some point in time even if it's for a short period, that would be a great experience.
LD: Who is musical in the family aside from you and your brother? Any sibling rivalry between you two when working?
My kids love to bang on the drums and anything else, all day & every day, they love music. Our father and other brothers are actors but not any other musicians really. My brother and I get along excellent.
LD: If you were to tell your younger self of 8 years ago some piece of sound advice, what would it be?
CAMU: See the difference between good & bad people faster.
LD: Could you say music for you now is fun?
CAMU: Yes, for the most part, I love writing and recording when it's all coming together. I could do with less time by the computer and more playing live, but that will, of course, happen next summer when we tour.
We used to play so much back in the day that we almost failed to realize toward the end how special it was. It's the best.
LD: Where are we going to find your music next and will your old bandmates from Naked be joining?
CAMU: Part 2 of the trilogy will be released in November, it's a song called "The One You Leave Behind" The video was shot in Finland and Hawaii.
The guys from NAKED are all featured on the track which is super cool. Then Part 3 comes out early next year. We will tour next summer as CAMU.


text:
Granting a reprieve
Harris County forgives hundreds of small business loans for struggling locals
Steven Devadanam
Over 400 small businesses in the Houston area have been granted forgiveness for loans. Photo via Getty Images
The global pandemic has wreaked havoc on local small businesses; many have struggled without savings, credit, and capital to continue on during the downturn. For some immediate relief, Harris County and the Houston-Galveston Area Council (HGAC) offered some 444 area small businesses interest-free loans of up to $25,000 earlier this year.
The loans would be forgiven in five years, per the initial Harris County COVID-19 Forgivable Loan Program agreement.
Now, in some feel-good, holiday news, the loans have been converted into grants, thanks to federal CARES Act funding received by the county, according to a statement by Harris County and Houston-Galveston Area Council.
"Many of the owners have already made use of the funds they received. Knowing that they don't have to pay it back, that it's all theirs, gives them one less thing to worry about at a time when so many have been impacted," said Omar Fortune, manager of the Houston-Galveston Area Local Development Corporation (H-GALDC), in a statement. (The organization handled the underwriting process and distribution of loans to small businesses.)
"We're pleased to be able to provide this gift to these small businesses that are so important to our region. That it's happening during the holiday season makes it even more special."
Originally launched on April 9, the Harris County COVID-19 Forgivable Loan program distributed $10 million to the 444 small businesses by the summer. On October 6, Harris County approved the loan conversion to grants, according to a press release. Small businesses that had already begun paying back their loans have had their payments reimbursed by the county, according to HGAC.
Local business owners are "ecstatic" upon hearing the news, according to H-GAC. " This whole experience has been an emotional roller coaster, but I'm extremely positive about the future," said Museum District-area dentist, Dr. Randy Mitchmore, in a statement.
"I'm proud to own a small business, and we have a direct impact on the local community. I'm also grateful for this program and that it was able to help small businesses as intended."
This article originally ran on CultureMap.
small businesses harris county covid-19 forgivable loan omar fortune randy mitchmore harris county
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Houston-based startup shoots for affordability and convenience with new photo biz
SBA grant to open new centers to support women in business — and one will serve the Houston area
The SBA announced plans to open 20 new centers to serve female entrepreneurs — and one is coming to the Houston area. Photo via Getty Images
The Houston area is benefitting from national funding that will be dedicated to creating female-focused resource centers across the country.
The United States Small Business Administration announced grant funding to launch 20 new Women's Business Centers (WBC) across the country. The centers, which are slated to go into rural and underserved markets, will also be partnering with Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
With the funds from the grant and through a partnership with the Greater Houston Women's Chamber of Commerce, the new center will rise in Northeast Houston to serve the Montgomery, East Harris and Chambers' Counties.
"We are incredibly excited that an organization as prominent as the Greater Houston Women's Chamber of Commerce is joining the SBA team," says Tim Jeffcoat, director if the SBA in Houston. "We are looking forward to working with them to empower women-owned businesses in Houston to reach new heights of success."
These new efforts represent the largest expansion of the WBC program in its 30-year existence.
"We are thrilled to partner with the SBA in opening another Women's Business Center, providing resources and tools for our region's women-led organizations to launch and expand," says Suzan Deison, CEO, president and founder of the Greater Houston Women's Chamber of Commerce. "We are honored the SBA chose to partner with us to expand needed services in Montgomery, East Harris & Chambers' counties, especially during these challenging times."
The SBA has 136 centers open across the country, and each offers business counseling, training, networking, workshops, and more to area female entrepreneurs.
"Opening the doors to the new Women's Business Centers is crucial to the vitality of women-owned small business owners. This network expansion will provide female entrepreneurs with the resources they need to start, grow, and expand their businesses," says Associate Administrator for the Office of Entrepreneurial Development Allen Gutierrez. "We look forward to the continued success of the WBC program as it contributes to the overall health of our economy and creates jobs in their local communities."
According to the release, the timing of these new centers is especially important as entrepreneurs continue to be challenged amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Over the past several months, we have seen Women's Business Centers provide aid to our nation's innovative and determined entrepreneurs, allowing countless small business owners to pivot with confidence to stay afloat during the pandemic," says SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza. "Expanding the WBC program is part of this Administration's longstanding commitment to the success of female entrepreneurs and women-owned small businesses. Adding these new Women's Business Centers to the already existing network of centers across America will boost timely resources to our nation's female economic drivers, providing them with local training and counseling."
sba women's business centers greater houston women's chamber of commerce suzan deison tim jeffcoat small business administration


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Tag: Green Grandma
Hero's Journey for Deewaar (1975)
Prof. Joseph Campbell's Monomyth model (The Hero's Journey), as seen from the lens of Amitabh Bachchan's character in the Salim-Javed film, Deewaar.
Source: SpotBoye.com
Show me a person that does not know this dialogue. And I will show you someone who has NOT lived! Not at least in India.
This is among the scores of iconic dialogue from the film, Deewaar. Released in 1975, directed by Yash Chopra and written by the legendary Salim – Javed, Deewaar is what you expect a film to be – a roller-coaster journey through the lives of characters next door. From the degradation of a righteous man who chose to take a stand for the poor (and failed at it), to the ecstasy of the new-earned wealth of a young man (who has lived in abject poverty as a kid), the dismay of a mother who'll be made to choose between her sons, the film not just entertains you, but also makes you question your own decisions, morality, and at least in my case, life!
So, as an aspiring filmmaker, I HAD to reverse engineer the brilliance of Deewaar, learn the tenets of what went in while they made the narrative, and then, hopefully, use those when I write my scripts.
One of the things that I realised, after I attended online sessions with Anjum Rajabali was that most great stories tend to follow a simple narrative structure of The Hero's Journey. Discovered by Prof. Joseph Campbell, The Hero's Journey (also known as the Monomyth) postulates that in most myths and folklores and religious texts (and thus popular culture and books and films), the protagonist typically faces a challenge. To sort it, he has to leave his current world (and often, the ordinary and comfortable one), spend time in the other (and often the challenging world) where he would fight a demon, and then come back to his ordinary world. In this journey, there are 17 distinct stages, and at each stage, he grows as an individual. A pictorial representation looks like…
Prof. Campbell's Hero's Journey
I first wrote about The Hero's Journey. Then, along with Shreya (of Green Grandma fame), I did a deep dive and wrote the Hero's Journey for Munna Bhai MBBS. And I decided that I would read and publish as many as I could to learn as much as I could.
So, The Hero's journey for Deewaar is the second in the series of explorations that I am doing, this time, with Hemant Joshi (who I met at one of the SWA sessions).
The Plot of Deewaar
Deewaar starts as the story of one Anand Verma and his family (wife Sumitra Devi and two young sons, Vijay and Ravi). Anand works at a local factory and is an honest, hardworking, and righteous worker. And naturally, the leader of the union of workers.
These workers are at loggerheads with the factory owner, who in turn is, well, like any other factory owner – a conniving, scheming bastard! The workers go on a strike and mandate Anand Verma to negotiate on their behalf.
The factory owner abducts Verma's family and asks him to pick the family or the worker's rights. Verma, like a typical Indian, chooses his family. The workers are disappointed and thrash him, leaving him in a hospital. Verma is unable to handle the emotional turmoil and runs away, leaving behind the mess that he's created. While Verma is drifting, his family continues to be ridiculed whenever they step out. One of these days, the elder son, Vijay is manhandled by goons in the market and they tattoo "Mera Baap Chor Hai" on his forearm.
Sumitra Devi moves herself and the sons to Mumbai where they are forced to live on the footpath and sleep under a bridge. Sumitra picks up odd jobs and is unable to meet the expenses. This is when Vijay steps up (not even a teenager at this point) and decides to support his mother with Ravi's education and upbringing. He starts as a boot-polisher.
On one of his regular days, after he's cleaned the shoes, one of his customers flings a coin at him. Vijay is angered and says since he's worked hard on shining the shoes and he deserves respect. Dawar, a local goon, is accompanying the customer spots the talent in Vijay.
We take a leap in time and Vijay is now working as a coolie at the docks. Vijay strikes against the local goons (controlled by Samant) collecting hafta from all the laborers. Furthermore, he goes into their den and thrashes them.
This is noticed by Dawar (who's another adversary of Samant) and he invites Vijay to join him in his business. His first job is to ensure that Dawar's smuggled gold is safely brought into Mumbai. Vijay hatches a smart plan that involves duping Samant and is able to execute flawlessly. Samant pledges revenge!
Vijay's life starts turning around – he buys his mother a better house, gets himself a better car, his clothes get better. Everything in life starts seeming better.
On the other side, the younger brother, Ravi completes his education and goes away to train for being a police officer. When he returns, his first case is to rein in Dawar's businesses. Ravi realizes that he would have to catch his brother to solve the case. He refuses initially. In fact, he goes and asks his brother to surrender. Vijay refuses. The brothers have a dispute over this. Their mother takes the side of the righteous one, Ravi, leaving Vijay all alone in his giant mansion.
A few days later, Ravi decides to take the case again and starts catching Dawar's men one after the other. Dawar realizes that Ravi must be stopped somehow. One of his gang's members suggest that Ravi be killed, but Vijay stops them. Vijay tries to convince Ravi to back away from Dawar's men, but Ravi holds his ground.
Their mother falls sick but Vijay cannot visit her – the cops are staking around the hospital. Vijay is distressed. Around the same time, Samant, who had pledged revenge, kills Vijay's girlfriend. Anguished, Vijay goes to the hotel where Samant is staying and kills him. In the process, he exposes himself to Ravi and the cops. Left with no choice, Ravi fires at Vijay. Vijay manages to drive away, only to hold long enough to come to his mother praying at the temple she frequents. He eventually dies in her lap.
And the story ends.
The Hero's Journey for Deewaar
In our opinion, the Hero of this film is Amitabh Bachchan's character. And we would use this vantage point to explore the Hero's Journey.
As always, before we get in, here are a few disclaimers.
This is our interpretation of The Hero's Journey for Vijay's character. And like all interpretations and opinions, we may be wrong.
If you disagree please do point out. We are always open for inputs 🙂
1 Film starts with a bravery medal being given to Ravi Verma. He talks about Sumitra Devi (his mother) being the reason that he got the medal. Makes the mom accept the medal. This serves as a hook into the world of two brothers – Vijay and Ravi.
2 Flashback
We see a bunch of laborers on a strike with Anand Verma leading it. He is demanding that the laborers get a better deal.
On the other side, his sons are all praises for the father. The wife mentions that kids look up to him. Anand mentions that he loves kids more than anything else. The ordinary world This scene establishes the milieu. The ordinary world. And the fact that there is this huge divide between the rich and the poor.
Plus we get to know the family dynamics.
3 The workers continue the protest at the factory owner's bungalow. The owner calls Anand inside and offers a deal. Along with that he blackmails Anand and asks him to choose between his family and the workers.
Anand chooses his family and goes back to his workers and admits defeat. The workers thrash Anand and leave him bedridden. The flaw in the character of Anand is showcased. We also establish a conflict in Anand's life. This sets up for a larger conflict in the life of the hero – one that would eventually grow into the inciting incident for the Hero.
4 The wife and two children discover that Anand has abandoned the family.
Some drunkards round-up Vijay, the elder son, and tattoo "mera baap chor hai" on his forearm.
The mother decides to move to Mumbai. She has no money and is forced to take up odd jobs and sleep under a bridge. Challenge from the outer world The hero's life, as we know it, is about to change.
5 The younger brother, Ravi, wants to study.
Vijay, not even a teenager, decides to man-up and tells his mother that he would work as well so that Ravi could get a good education.
Vijay becomes a boot polisher. Call to adventure The hero accepts the challenge and decides to do whatever he could do to get his younger brother education.
6 Dawar buys a racebook and gets his shoes to polish. Jaichand (Dawar's associate) throws money at Vijay, who refuses, saying he is not a beggar.
Dawar asks Jaichand to pick the money and hand it to Vijay. Also, he predicts that Vijay will go on to be a winner in his life!
We see a juxtaposition to Ravi who's topping the school. The seed of separation between the two brothers is sowed.
This also shows us the character of Vijay where he has taken a stand without worrying about consequences; unlike his father!
7 The mother is now working at a construction site. She has to face an abusive manager. Vijay sees it and hits the manager and runs away.
The mother compares the two brothers. She tells Vijay that Ravi is kind and sorted.
Vijay is angered and flashes his tattoo, demanding an answer. We realize that the hero will stand up against anyone that does not respect him or his family. He seeks respect.
The suffering of the hero is also showcased. The wound becomes visible.
8 The mother takes two kids to a temple. Vijay takes a stand for himself yet again, stating he will not enter the temple.
Time moves on and sons grow up.
Ravi asks what does mom seek from God. She says "tere liye sukh and Vijay ke liye Shaanti".
The two brothers go their separate ways Crossing the first threshold This parting of ways is both symbolic and thematic.
Plus, by refusing to go into the temple, Vijay is protesting against the injustice in his life.
9 Vijay now works at the docks as a coolie. He gets a badge with the number 786 engraved. Rahim Chacha tells Vijay that 786 is a lucky number to have and asks him to keep the badge on him all the time. They also talk about the hafta the coolies have to pay to the local goons, controlled by Samant.
A coolie, Gangu gets killed when he refuses to pay the goons. Something stirs in Vijay. He says, "agle hafte ek aur coolie paisa dene se inkaar karne wala hai" The road of trials Vijay is challenged again.
"Gareebi ka jurmana" is a trigger for him to fight the norm. He wants to change things.
The badge with the number 786 could be the Supernatural Aid.
10 Ravi on the other hand is struggling to find work despite his numerous attempts.
11 At the docks, Vijay refuses to pay the goons. Fights and comes out on top. The road of trials Again the same characteristic is showcased – when someone challenges his respect, he will revolt.
The path for Vijay is full of such "trials".
12 When he comes home, the mother scolds Vijay.
In response he says, "Tum chahti ho main bhi mu chupake bhaag jaata" Again, the pain is showcased.
13 Ravi continues to struggle to get employment. We see that he gives up an opportunity for someone who's struggling more than him. We see a comparison with the idealist father.
The father is spotted drifting in a train. The two worlds of two brothers are now completely different.
14 Dawar gets Vijay to work with him.
The iconic dialogue, "Main aaj bhi faike hue paise nahi uthata" is played out. Meeting with the mentor Dawar acts as the mentor who helps Vijay into this new world.
15 Ravi meets his girlfriend's father (who's a cop) and he recommends that Ravi join the police force Again, the contrasting paths.
The elder brother is being mentored by a goon; the younger by a cop!
16 Vijay gets his first assignment of getting a gold consignment to Mumbai. He schemes Samant in helping him do so.
We hear, "Suna hai lift ki deewar ke kaan nahi hote". Road of trials Establishes Vijay as a formidable personality. And in the process he makes allies and enemies.
17 Vijay shows a giant house to his mother. She gets suspicious of Vijay's work.
Ravi comes running and shares he got a job as a cop and goes away for his training. Vijay starts to see success. He is getting deeper into this new world.
18 At the poolside of a swanky hotel, Vijay suggests to Dawar that they plant someone in Samant's gang. They plot a scheme to get Darpan recruited in Samant's gang.
Darpan goes to Samant and gives out information that Vijay would be at Sona bar and they can kill him. Samant and gang plans for that. He continues to make friends and enemies.
He is getting sucked even deeper into the new world.
19 Vijay meets his future love interest, Anita at the bar. She and the lucky badge (786) save him from the Samant's sharpshooter. This is a case of setup and payoff – the lucky badge does two things – makes him meet Anita, his love; and saves his life!
20 Dawar says he wants to take a backseat and installs Vijay on the throne.
However, Jaichand had eyed this for a long time. Belly of the whale At this point, Vijay is deep into the new world.
He has conquered the new world – or at least he thinks so.
21 Ravi comes back home as a police officer. Vijay realizes that at some point the paths of the two brothers will cross.
He laments with Anita that Ravi and he are different. This is the point of no return for the hero. The final battle for the hero has been seeded.
22 Ravi finds out that as a cop, his top two targets are Dawar and his own brother, Vijay.
Ravi is shocked. He is initially in denial. However, an incident with a young boy inspires him to take up the case.
23 Vijay buys the building where his mother worked when he was young. Classic case of "high" before the low! – Second false victory for Vijay
24 Ravi and Vijay have a face-off in front of their mother. Ravi asks him to surrender by signing on the confession. He famously asks, "bhai tum sign karoge ya nahi"
The word Deewaar is introduced for the first time.
Mother decides to leave Vijay alone and moves out.
25 Vijay back to Anita. She mentions that she wants to settle down and get married.
The mother on the other hand tells Ravi that she loved Vijay more than she loved Ravi.
26 Ravi continues his crusade against Dawar and Vijay. To a point that the gang starts thinking about eliminating Ravi.
Vijay opposes the ideas and admits that Ravi is his brother.
27 The two brothers meet at the bridge where they grew up. Vijay asks Ravi to back out from the case – arguing that because of his dirty work, Ravi could get educated!
The iconic, "mere pass maa hai" is showcased. Refusal to return Vijay has yet another chance to surrender, but he refuses to give away everything he's earned in the new world.
He is refusing to go to his original world.
28 Anand is found dead on a train. Ravi realizes it is their father when he is filing the report. He finds a picture of the family being held as hostages.
Ravi stops his mother from putting sindoor. Such amazing symbolism!
29 Ravi lights the fire to his father's dead body, as Vijay watches from a distance – he is still wanted by the cops!
30 On a call recording, Ravi finds about a meeting where Jaichand is present and leaves right away! Ravi arrests Jaichand and makes him confess about Dawar and Vijay.
Ravi arrests Dawar. However, Vijay manages to run away and goes into hiding.
On the other hand, Samant vows to avenge the loss in business by killing Vijay before the cops could arrest him.
31 Vijay gets to know that his mother is unwell and wants to meet her. He however can not as the place is swarming with cops.
Vijay is lost and doesn't know what to do.
He goes to the one place which he never would have – the temple his mother frequented. We hear "aaj khush toh bohot hoge tum…"
Maa miraculously gets better. She visits the temple, where the priest tells a shocked mother that Vijay was there! Atonement Vijay realizes that he has dragged himself too deep into this new world and escaping is impossible now.
But he does want his mother to get better. This entering the temple is his atonement!
In Prof. Campbell's journey, atonement happens before the refusal to return. We see the sequence slightly altered, but the concept holds.
32 Vijay gets to know that his mother is now home.
Anita announces that she's pregnant.
Vijay decides to get married to Anita and surrender. He also tells his mother to wait for him at the temple. Crossing of the return threshold Because of Anita, he has a reason to give up everything and go back to the original world.
We find this a tad weak compared to all the imploration by his mother.
33 Anita however is kidnapped by Samant.
Unknown to Vijay, who in a separate meeting is being told of a plan to escape. He tells his gang that he would not go along with them.
When Vijay comes back to Anita, he finds her dying. She in fact dies in his arms. He discovers that it was Samant that had hurt Anita.
Vijay storms into Samant's hideout. He kills Samant's flunkies but Samant is not there.
34 Ravi gets to know that Vijay is on his way to Samant's other hideout.
He and other cops surround the building. However, Vijay is still able to kill Samant by throwing him off the top of the building.
35 Despite all the cops, Vijay manages to escape, with Ravi chasing him.
While running, his lucky badge falls off. As Vijay tries to retrieve it, Ravi comes in close and shoots at him, injuring him.
He however gets in a car and drives the car into the temple. He eventually dies in his mother's arms! Master of the two worlds At this point, Vijay has conquered the two worlds – he has realized that his path of getting the respect that he craved, actually took away from his family.
Even though short-lived (since he died right after), he is briefly able to earn his mother's respect too.
The symbolism of the lucky badge is reinforced for at least the third time!
36 We go back to the opening scene where Ravi is getting an award. The film ends with a thundering applause.
So, there!
Even though NOT all stages of the Hero's Journey are evident in Deewaar (they weren't evident in Munna Bhai MBBS either), the story clearly follows the structure. Enough to warrant an investigation and research!
That's it from our side. Please do give us feedback on our interpretation.
Also, should you want the open files and notes that we made that we have not published, please email us and we'd be touch. We have Deewaar's script broken into a beat-sheet (our interpretation and may not be right), and various stages of the Hero's Journey, as adapted for Deewaar. Happy to share those!
Oh, a disclaimer for the millionth time – these are our interpretations and could be incorrect. This is merely an academic exercise to learn more about Hero's Journey! Do help us.
So, that's about it from us! Let us know what you think.
Hemant + Saurabh
Oh, one more thing. Please do let us know what next film we do this deep dive on.
Author Saurabh GargPosted on November 8, 2020 December 29, 2020 Categories Hero's JourneyTags Amitabh Bachchan, Anjum Rajabali, Bollywood, Filmwriting, Green Grandma, Hemant Joshi, Hero's Journey, Salim-Javed, Screenwriters Association of India, Screenwriting, Shashi Kapoor, Shreya Rawat, SWA India, Yash ChopraLeave a comment on Hero's Journey for Deewaar (1975)
Hero's Journey for Munna Bhai MBBS
Prof. Joseph Campbell's Monomyth model (The Hero's Journey), as seen from the lens of Raju Hirani's Munna Bhai MBBS.
Credits: Vinod Chopra Films
Hello hello!
You know, Munna Bhai? The film? Well, this is where Shreya and I try and decode the idea of the Hero's Journey via how they've been portrayed in popular films. Read more about the project here.
For each film that we take up, we would talk about the plot, break that into a beat sheet, and then try to identify what part of films fits into what part of the monomyth structure.
Without further ado, here we go!
The Sanjay Dutt starrer was written by Rajkumar Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra.
The story, set in contemporary Mumbai, is of Murli Prasad Sharma, aka, Munna (played by Sanjay Dutt). He is a Robinhood-ish goon for hire in Mumbai. As a character, he is simple and flawed. He's all the happy-go-lucky and all he seeks in life is approval from his father. But his flaw is that he's lied to his father (Hari Prasad Sharma, played by Late Sunil Datt) that he's a doctor and runs a hospital in Mumbai. To live that lie, he puts up an elaborate facade everytime his father comes to visit him.
All's well in his regular life, till his father bumps into a real doctor (Dr. Asthana, played by Boman Irani) and proposes that Munna and Dr. Asthana's daughter (Chinki / Dr. Suman, played by Gracy Singh) get married to each other. On the day when the marriage discussions were to happen, Dr. Asthana finds out the truth about Munna. He humiliates Munna's father and throws them out of his house.
Hari Prasad Sharma being the man of his honor, he feels humiliated, disowns his son and goes back to his village.
Munna is aghast – the only thing he held dear (his father's pagdi) has been attacked and he is helpless! Against the advice of his trusted flunky (Circuit, played by Arshad Warsi), he decides that he would become a doctor for real and earn his father's respect.
The story then follows Munna's journey as he uses rather unconventional methods to navigate the world of medical studies. Along the way he finds his love in the very person he was supposed to get married to, makes friends across genders, cadres, backgrounds et al and collides head-on with the steadfast, moral, principled Dr. Asthana.
As the film ends, like the proverbial Hero, Munna wins all that there is to win and turns his "enemies" into allies. And, they live happily ever after!
The plot, broken into a beat sheet. And the Hero's Journey structure.
Disclaimer for a millionth time – these are our interpretations and could be incorrect. This is an academic exercise to learn more about Hero's Journey!
Also, we will use the following interpretation of the journey that places equal "weightage" to all three stages (unlike the more popular one that is skewed towards the two worlds).
Part 1/2
Part 2 /2
Even though NOT all stages of the Hero's Journey are evident in Munna Bhai MBBS, the story clearly follows the structure. Enough to warrant an investigation and research.
Please do give us feedback on our interpretation.
Also, should you want the open files and notes that we made and have not published, please email us and we'd be touch. We have Munna Bhai's script (found via the internet), script broken into beat-sheet (our interpretation and may not be right), and various stages of the Hero's Journey, as adapted for Munna Bhai MBBS. Happy to share those 🙂
What would we improve if I was asked to make the film better?
Two things…
A. We'd make the villain a tad more powerful.
Thing is, in our opinion, in India, we do not believe in an all-powerful, impossible to kill villain. In most of our stories, once the villain is often a lesser mortal than the hero. Of course there are parts where the villain is strong, after all we like to see fights, but Hero remains the more powerful entity. The way we go through the struggle of the Hero, we often leave that out for the villain. Compared to the West, they spend as much time on the villian – this makes the villain as loved as the hero. Case in point? The Joker! In our lores, we all know that Duryodhana was an accomplished fighter but he was blinded by his lust for power. In the retelling, we don't delve on his good parts. Similarly, Raavana was a Pandit but we don't really spend a lot of time showcasing that.
In Munna Bhai, we know that Dr. Asthana is a straight-jacketed individual. But we do not go into his past to understand why he's like that!
B. The character of Dr. Suman / Chinki.
The other part that is lacking in this story is the character of Dr. Suman. She has a very very insignificant role to play. She does not help him cheat, she does not get vocal against her father ever, except the last scene (which looks like a forced fit). She is even ok with the idea of getting married to a person that she's not seen after she was a kid!
What few things could we add to make the story follow the Hero's Journey more closely?
Again, two things…
A. The character of Munna had to reach the final destination by himself. And not use assistance from Dr. Suman to rally the support.
B. We did not find an active mentor (apart from Dr. Rustom) guiding him through.
Further Reads
Here are some things that we read while we were working on this piece.
About Raju Hirani and Raju Hirani's comments on Munna Bhai MBBS
So, Raju Hirani lived with the idea of Munna Bhai for 9 years. And between Shreya and I, we do NOT have that many years of experience of even watching films! We are nobodies to critique his work. All we can do is learn from the output and other conversations he's had with people about his work.
Raju Hirani says, "the message I wanted to convey to the doctors was to have more compassion. If they want to make money they should go somewhere else" and I think it's amply clear in the film. Even when Munna gives up (in the last scene) and moves on, he goes back to being a compassionate goon and not a greedy doctor!
He further says, "Cinema is all about entertaining. My principal motto is, 'I shall entertain'. Nobody walks into the theatre to be preached to or to learn something. So I have to be sure that whatever I do, even when I have a message to deliver, it must be done in a manner that is highly entertaining. Cinema is storytelling and story telling is about entertaining. At the same time, it is a commentary on reality." Again, something that is VERY evident in Munna Bhai.
He adds in another interview, "Never Lock The Script: Never call anything finished, keep writing it and it keeps getting better. Sometimes an idea which is 'good enough' can become perfect if we keep writing some more." I think this is where we take courage. Even if a film has been shot and loved by people across the world, there is merit in going back and seeing what could've been better. Of course we can not make the same film again but we can definitely take back some lessons!
Finally, he says, "I thus realised that what Munnabhai had done for a lot of aspiring filmmakers was to give them the courage to break the rules." We are taking the courage to break the rules and dissecting a film that Raju Hirani has spent almost a decade in perfecting.
And of course time spent on thinking about Munna Bhai, his story, the Hero's Journey has given us some incredible lessons!
Some interviews that we read while researching about the work of Raju Hirani…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBLgcWf6h0o
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/media/entertainment/rajkumar-hirani-abhijat-joshi-share-tricks-of-film-making/articleshow/6998036.cms?from=mdr
https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/take-five-nbsp/cid/1432348
https://www.thequint.com/entertainment/rajkumar-hiranis-5-tips-on-screenwriting
http://www.catchnews.com/bollywood-news/rajkumar-hirani-explains-the-process-of-scripting-pk-3-idiots-munnabhai-series-reveals-that-idea-is-to-make-a-entertaining-film-bollywood-latest-news-1454145935.html
Shreya + Saurabh
Author Saurabh GargPosted on July 1, 2020 November 8, 2020 Categories Hero's JourneyTags Anjum Rajabali, Green Grandma, Hero's Journey, Munna Bhai MBBS, Raju Hirani, Screenwriting, Shreya Rawat, Vidhu Vinod Chopra2 Comments on Hero's Journey for Munna Bhai MBBS
Introducing, The Hero's Journey Project
A series of essays where I will research, explore and postulate on Prof. Joseph Campbell's Monomyth (The Hero's Journey).
Note: Edited this on 20th June after I attended yet another session with Anjum Sir. The changes I made on 20th are marked as v2.
You know how things fall in place when you least expect them to? That happened to me!
Lemme tell you a story. Because of the lockdown and general joblessness that I had, I decided that I would try and use this time to become a screenwriter. Now, how do you become a screenwriter? I had no clue, except maybe, to write an actual screenplay!
Lucky Strike 1
And while I was mulling it, luckily I spotted this initiative by writer-direction Satyanshu Singh where he got Anjum Rajabali to take sessions for people wanting to be screenwriters. I attended a couple of lectures from him (one was on Mahabharata and the other on Hero's Journey) and the two lectures OPENED my eyes to the method you need to get your madness pouring out on a screenplay. I instantly decided that I want to make The Hero's Journey my life's work.
Ok, that's hyperbole. I have a million life's works like that. Lemme not digress. The point is, I want to learn as much about Hero's Journey as I can. And I believe in learning by doing. But then, I was stuck. I had no freaking clue about it (apart from an academic interest I had in it) and what Anjum Sir taught me in those 4 hours.
On Twitter, I bumped into Shreya of the Green Grandma fame and somehow we got talking and somehow one thing led to another and somehow we realized that we could do this together. This? Learn about Hero's Journey!
She of course is far more informed and read compared to me and partnering with me would be meaningless to her. But I think I played my cards right and talked her into it!
She recommended that if I wanted to learn about Hero's Journey, the best way would be to watch some films like Star Wars and The Matrix Trilogy that follow the Hero's Journey to the T.
But then we decided to check if the Monomyth structure was followed in Indian films as well!
For the uninitiated, The Hero's Journey is an outcome of the work of Joseph Campbell who studied myths, lores, and stories from across cultures, times, religions, regions, places, and discovered that the most compelling and memorable stories tend to follow the same path. Their stories tend to have the same structure! And he called that structure the Monomyth. Or as it is more popularly known, The Hero's Journey.
The chart below describes the Hero's Journey…
Source: Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero%27s_journey
While a short-note on Hero's Journey is literally impossible, lemme try and explain!
A primer on Hero's Journey
For starters, there are two worlds…
The ordinary, current, existing, comfortable where the Hero currently lives. He is unaware of trials and tribulations that await him in the other world.
The unknown, new, special, unnatural, supernatural world where rules from the ordinary world cease to exist. There are new rules, new norms, new reality. The world is full of dangers that the hero does not even know of!
Then, there are three distinct stages of life in the Hero. Different scholars and writers have used different terms for this. I will stick to what Joseph Campbell used.
The departure from the ordinary world.
Initiation into the supernatural world
Return to the ordinary world where the hero originally came from
Of course, these stages are further divided into various substages. And each time the hero transitions from one stage to another, he has to go through a battle of sorts. Lemme explain each. (v2)
1. The Departure. So, all is well in the life of Hero. He is happy and chilling and all that. And one fine day, someone from a distant land comes over and tells him that his world is in grave danger. And he MUST undertake this journey to the unknown if he wants to save the world. He may be reluctant initially but he will get over it and take the journey.
2. Initiation. This is where the Hero gets to the unknown world. The hero overcomes trials & tribulations, faces threats & temptations, and finds allies & enemies. The entire journey in the unknown world is a step towards becoming, rather than becoming one thing. You know, the journey in itself is the destination!
3. The Return. This is where the Hero now has to come back to the original world where he started from. Just that as a result of his journey, he has become better and become a master of sorts. And like they, he's live happily ever after. Unless he gets another call to adventure!
So yeah. That.
And if I were to tell you a story to explain the Hero's Journey, it would go something like this..
Once upon a time there lived a prince in a cocooned world where he had absolutely no clue about the harshness that life has to offer (Ordinary World). All was well till one day while playing cricket, he makes a wild swing with his bat and instead of making contact with swings hard and breaks his father's favorite vase. What more? The vase actually contained his father's life! He suddenly is petrified. He doesn't know what to do. And just then, the wise old courtier tells him that he can undo the damage and save his father's life if he could go to the dungeons protected by the scariest dragons and retrieve this magic potion (The Call to Adventure). Of course, the prince is scared about it – after all, he's been warned all his life to not even talk about those dragons! So, he is reluctant to go (Refusal to Call).
But then he has to save his father. He takes the courtiers' blessing and a cloak of invisibility (Supernatural aid) and goes on the adventure. Along the way, he meets people – some good and some not so good (The Road of Trials). He does a lot of good deeds, after all, he is a good prince. Like while he is thirty and he just has one sip of water left, he gives that to an Eagle that has been shot down by an unknown hunter.
As he heads towards the innermost cave where the pot of magic potion is hidden, he has to battle with the monster, the size of a Jupiter (Crossing of First Threshold). The battle is ferocious, sparks fly off in all directions and it seems that the monster will have the upper hand. And while the prince is struggling, news comes from a home that his father is on the verge of dying (The Belly of Whale).
All is sort of lost for this young prince. He questions his choices and decisions and is about to give up. Just then a beautiful princess arrives (The meeting with the goddess) with her pet Eagle, the same one that had given his last sip of water. The princess tests him by offering one of two things – a magic sword that can kill the monster or a union with her that can allow the prince to escape (Woman as temptress).
But the prince starts to understand why his father was the way he was with him (Atonement with Father). He chooses the sword and thanks to the superpowers and allies that our prince has gathered on his journey here, he prevails! In a fierce battle, he defeats the monster and gets the magic potion (Apotheosis and Ultimate Boon). All he needs to do is, now, to go back home and save his father.
But just when he starts to head home, he gets tempted to stay back – after all, he will be a prince if he goes back to his ordinary world and here, in the extraordinary, he is the mightiest of them all – he is the one to have defeated the monster! He decides to not go back and enjoy the riches of this world (Refusal to return). He starts to settle down till he sees a picture of his father in his wallet. He pines for his affection and he decides that a kingdom is not greater than his father's health.
He finds a teleporter that can instantly take him back (Magic Flight) and as he is on his way, everyone of importance, including the princess, from this extraordinary world decides to tag along. The prince has no choice but to listen to his new-found followers, disciples (Crossing of return threshold).
Once he reaches his father's palace, of course, the father is back to the pink of his health, thanks to the magic potion. Father then decides to let the prince ascend to the throne. And the young prince now rules over both the kingdoms and lives happily ever after (Freedom to live)!
So there are multiple versions and variations of this. If you are a scholar, you may choose the one that appeals to you the most. Shreya and I will settle for a broad framework that helps us understand people and emotions and characters and narratives.
So yeah. This is a primer on The Hero's Journey!
But before that, Some disclaimers…
Anjum Sir is VERY VERY VERY vocal and categorical that the Hero's Journey is NOT a tool that you may want to use when you write. PLEASE PLEASE respect what the master says.
Of course, not all stories follow the Hero's Journey. And the stories that do follow the structure, don't have to follow it to the T. In some stories, some stages may get clubbed, in others, the order may get changed and in some, there could be just one part from the journey.
Please do note that the Monomyth is not the only structure that screenwriters and storytellers follow. There are more like the 3-act structure, the 5-act structure, and the nonlinear structure. Plus there are many more variations of this model itself. For example, there is one by Vogler that uses just 12 steps (unlike Campbell's 17). And of course, there are more. In one line, this model (Campbell's) is NOT the holy grail! But as Saurabh says, it does come close 😉 And Shreya disagrees. She is of the opinion that modern screenwriters do not use this at all. You decide and tell us 😀
We are mere students and all text herein is our interpretation. And not the thoughts of the original writer or of Anjum Sir. So, we may be off. PLEASE DO TELL US IF WE ARE ON POINT. OR ARE OFF. The idea of doing this is to learn and your input helps!
Since we would analyze these films end to end, we would have to narrate the story end to end. So, can't really "hide" the climax, etc.
These pieces are not film reviews. We are not here to judge the film, the plot, the story or anything else for that matter. We are here to find traces of Hero's Journey in the story. And try and learn lessons as scriptwriters ourselves.
All the work for the posts was done collaboratively by Shreya and I. But for the ease of writing and narration, I am the one who's writing the post.
Oh, one more thing. In everything we write, Hero is being used as a gender-neutral salutation.
We'd start soon, with Raju Hirani's Munna Bhai MBBS (published in Jun 2020). After that, we have lined up Deewaar (published in Nov 2020) and Lagaan. What else can we take up?
Till then, over and out!
Author Saurabh GargPosted on May 23, 2020 November 8, 2020 Categories Hero's Journey, WritingTags Anjum Rajabali, Green Grandma, Hero's Journey, Munna Bhai MBBS, Satyanshu Singh, Screenwriting, Scriptwriting, Shreya Rawat1 Comment on Introducing, The Hero's Journey Project


Steve Cunningham holds the Series 7, 63 and 65 securities registrations through LPL Financial. Prior to joining Mike Cunningham Investments in 2012, he worked at GuideStone Financial Resources for nearly 14 years, focusing on implementing investment strategies for a select group of clients related to retirement plans, nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements and other personal savings vehicles.
Steve earned the Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist® designation from the College for Financial Planning. He obtained his Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance from Oklahoma Baptist University in 1996.


text:
UKRI prepares for COP26 with global climate change events
An international events series hosted by UKRI and partners is taking place as the UK prepares for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow in November.
The COP26 adaptation and resilience series aims to showcase collaborative, locally-led and globally significant research focused around how we can respond to and prepare for the impacts of climate change.
Research highlighted will be aligned to the UK COP26 presidency's adaptation and resilience theme. The events will feed into COP26 by discussing solutions to the climate challenges we face, bringing together:
researchers from a range of disciplines
local, regional and national-level policymakers.
The first event took place with a UK-hosted international launch on Thursday 3 June 2021.
Further events will take place over the next five months and will be co-hosted with COP26 delivery partners based in different countries and regions across the globe. Discussions at each event will focus on key climate adaptation and resilience issues encountered by the host countries and regions.
Collaborative international efforts
UKRI has convened an expert group of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) lead authors to develop a set of core questions to help frame discussions across the series. This will ensure that we deliver coherent messaging at COP26.
Core questions are:
what research is needed to respond to the adaptation gap?
how to evaluate the feasibility of adaptation options and outcomes for resilient and sustainable development?
what examples are there of transformative adaptation research enabling action through addressing social justice, capacity building and governance?
how can research funders, universities and data managers best champion inclusive, urgent and solutions-oriented adaptation research?
Dr Sarah Webb, Associate Director, International at the Natural Environment Research Council, part of UKRI, said:
People and ecosystems across the world are already experiencing the effects of climate change.
This is an important events series which will enable us as a global research community to consider how to better understand and manage the climate risks and impacts we face.
Our role is to bring together scientists, policymakers and business to discuss these issues and build evidence and identify locally-led solutions to support COP26's ambitious objectives.
Find out further information about the upcoming events.
Top image: Credit: monkeybusinessimages / Getty Images
Find out more about how UKRI is responding to climate change
https://www.ukri.org/news/ukri-prepares-for-cop26-with-global-climate-change-events


text:
Q: ReactRedux Fetch Network Request Failed I'm trying to fetch from localhost:
export function fetchUsersFromAPI() {
    return(dispatch) => {
        dispatch(getUsers())
         fetch('https://localhost:3000/users')
      // fetch('https://192.168.0.2:3000/users/')  //< same error for this too
        .then(res => res.json())
        .then(json => dispatch(getUsersSuccess(json.results)))
        .catch(err => dispatch(getUsersFailure(err)))
    }
}

Accessing https://192.168.0.2:3000/users or https://localhost:3000/users from browser returns :
[{"id":1,"name":"Name1","color":"Green"},{"id":2,"name":"Name2","color":"Red"},{"id":3,"name":"Name3","color":"Yellow"}]
So its already in json. Is it mandatory to use https and not http in Redux fetch?
I passed the err to my reducer so I get :
"TypeError: Network request failed
    at XMLHttpRequest.xhr.onerror (http://localhost:8081/index.android.bundle?platform=android&dev=true&hot=true&minify=false:15946:16)
    at XMLHttpRequest.dispatchEvent (http://localhost:8081/index.android.bundle?platform=android&dev=true&hot=true&minify=false:18719:35)
    at XMLHttpRequest.setReadyState (http://localhost:8081/index.android.bundle?platform=android&dev=true&hot=true&minify=false:18502:18)
    at XMLHttpRequest.__didCompleteResponse (http://localhost:8081/index.android.bundle?platform=android&dev=true&hot=true&minify=false:18358:14)
    at http://localhost:8081/index.android.bundle?platform=android&dev=true&hot=true&minify=false:18453:45
    at RCTDeviceEventEmitter.emit (http://localhost:8081/index.android.bundle?platform=android&dev=true&hot=true&minify=false:9351:35)
    at MessageQueue.__callFunction (http://localhost:8081/index.android.bundle?platform=android&dev=true&hot=true&minify=false:8235:42)
    at http://localhost:8081/index.android.bundle?platform=android&dev=true&hot=true&minify=false:8051:15
    at MessageQueue.__guard (http://localhost:8081/index.android.bundle?platform=android&dev=true&hot=true&minify=false:8206:9)
    at MessageQueue.callFunctionReturnFlushedQueue (http://localhost:8081/index.android.bundle?platform=android&dev=true&hot=true&minify=false:8050:13)"

What am I doing wrong? If I use fetch('https://swapi.co/api/people/') it works. Please help.


text:
Donald Carhart Wilcox (1969 – February 12, 2003) was an American spree killer. A convicted child molester, he killed at least four elderly people during a robbery spree around Corpus Christi, Texas, from February 5 to 12, 2003. Wilcox was eventually surrounded by officers at a hotel and shot himself in the head to avoid arrest, while a teenage accomplice who assisted him in the first two murders was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Prior criminal history
Little is known about Wilcox's past. Born in 1969, he was described as a drifter and con man who traveled all across the country, living off burglaries and thefts for which he was repeatedly jailed. Prior to his murder spree, his most serious known conviction was for molesting a 6-year-old boy in New Castle, Pennsylvania in 1997, to which he pleaded guilty and received a 2-to-5 year sentence. Wilcox served out the majority of this sentence and was released in January 2003, but instead of returning to his previous known address in Winchester, Virginia, he decided to board a bus in New York City and travel to a random location. During this trip, he befriended another drifter, Harry Mavoides, and through him also befriended his 15-year-old son, Mitchell.

Murders and suicide
On the evening of February 5, 2003, Wilcox was at a convience store in Corpus Christi when he stumbled upon Mitchell Mavoides, who had gone there to buy cigarettes. Knowing that the teenager was desperate to return home to New York City, he proposed that they team up and rob an elderly couple living in an isolated home in nearby Portland, to which Mavoides agreed. They then traveled to the home and waited for the two residents - 79-year-old Weldon and 77-year-old Charlotte Parker - to come home from church. When they arrived, Wilcox threatened them with a .45 caliber handgun he had found in their house and threatened them at gunpoint, forcing the pair into the trunk of their car. He and Mavoides then got in and drove around town for some time before arriving at an isolated area north of Corpus Christi. Wilcox then forced the elderly couple out of the trunk and shot both in the head, two times each.

On February 10, Wilcox broke into the home of 61-year-old Louis Victor Mokry, where he lived alone. After shooting the man in the head, he stole whatever valuables he could find and left. Mokry's body was discovered later that day after he failed to appear at his workplace, but authorities were initially unable to determine whether the case was a suicide or homicide. On the following day, police officers searching for the Parkers found their bodies, and when they conducted forensic ballistics tests, they linked the bullets found inside their bodies to Mokry. That same day, acting on an anonymous tip, authorities arrested Mavoides and issued a warrant for first-degree capital murder for Wilcox.

On midnight of February 12, police officers in Corpus Christi received information that Wilcox was residing at the Padre Motel in the Flour Bluff neighborhood, and after two hours of surveillance, a SWAT team was dispatched to arrest him. However, Wilcox exited his room brandishing a handgun and pointed it at them, whereupon the officers opened fire, striking him multiple times. He then lifted the gun to his head and shot himself in the face, resulting in an instant death. While it was initially questioned whether his death was the result of a shot fired by him or the SWAT unit, an autopsy determined the cause of death to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Aftermath
Immediately after his death, his motel room and a white Ford Taurus, presumed to be stolen, were searched. Upon opening the trunk of the car, officers discovered the body of 87-year-old Luther Butler, an Oklahoma native and the car's owner who had evidently been murdered by Wilcox, but it remains unclear at what date this occurred. The discovery of his body led some authorities to speculate that Wilcox might have been responsible for other murders, possibly in other states, but to date no further crimes have been linked to him.

For his role in the Parker double murder, Mitchell Mavoides was tried as an adult, found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment with a chance of parole. His earliest possible release is scheduled for 2046, when he would be 56 years old.

References

External links
 Mavoides v. St. (2006)

1969 births
2003 deaths
21st-century American criminals
American male criminals
American spree killers
American sex offenders
American people convicted of child sexual abuse
Suicides by firearm in Texas

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Q: activatables.js tabing js sending values on URL <script src=" /js/activatables.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
  activatables('tab', ['page-1', 'page-2', 'page-3', 'page-4', 'page-5', 'page-6']);
</script>

I am using this js for tab in the table. But i am not able to remove the #tab from my URL.
Is there any way where this tab values like #page=page-1 will not pass in the URL.

A: Yes you can:
use this code
activatables('page', ['page-1', 'page-2', 'page-3', 'page-4', 'page-5', 'page-6']);
               ^

BTW this is not related to PHP..isn't it?


text:
Concordia Christmas Concert
Music At Concordia
The Emmy® Award-winning Concordia Christmas Concerts are a regional highlight during the holiday season, featuring our choirs and orchestra performing in front of a newly created mural each year.
Christmas Concert FAQs
Conductors' Receptions
96th Annual Concordia Christmas Concert
"Star of Bethlehem, Lead Us to Peace"
Join us for the region's grandest Christmas celebration! Featuring more than 300 student musicians and five ensembles, the Concordia Christmas Concert will be performed in Memorial Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2; 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3; and 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4.
Tickets for Moorhead concerts will be available online, in-person at the Memorial Auditorium Box Office (9 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday-Thursday), or by calling 888.477.0277 (9 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday-Thursday (closed Friday) starting at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8. Tickets are $25 plus handling fees for mail, phone and online orders.
Purchase Moorhead TicketsMoorhead Seating Chart
The concert will be performed at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8.
Tickets for Orchestra Hall concerts will be available online or by calling 800.292.4141 starting at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8. Tickets are $32, $28 and $23 plus facility and handling fees
Purchase Orchestra Hall Tickets
Virtual Christmas Concert
While a video can never replace the experience of attending an in-person Concordia Christmas Concert, in an effort to bring the Christmas Concerts to as many people as possible, we will provide a virtual viewing option each year. We hope this helps those who cannot attend an in-person concert experience a taste of the concerts and provides a way for those who did attend an in-person concert to relive the special memories they made.
This year, we will video record "Star of Bethlehem, Lead Us to Peace" during our concerts at Orchestra Hall and create a one-hour version of the concert to make available for online, on-demand viewing from the comfort of your own home Dec. 21, 2022, through Jan. 2, 2023. Registration is required to view the video. Register before Dec. 21 for only $25!
Previous Concordia Christmas Concerts will be broadcast on television and radio this holiday season.
Past Concordia Christmas Concerts
Recordings of previous Concordia Christmas Concerts are available for purchase.
Christmas Concert Gift Boxes
Bring a taste of the Concordia Christmas Concerts to your family's home. Each box includes either one or two 2022 Christmas Concert mugs, a CD of our 2021 Christmas Concert "...And Glory Shone Around," artwork by mural designer Paul Johnson, a special note from artistic director Michael Culloton, and more. Limited quantities available — order soon!
Learn more about the ensembles
The Concordia Choir
Concordia Chapel Choir
The Concordia Orchestra
Kantorei
Explore This Gallery
Paul Johnson is a communication art and design instructor at Alexandria Technical College in Alexandria, Minn. He is a native Minnesotan and principal behind Paul Johnson Design & Illustration. Johnson received his education from Minnesota State University Moorhead and was previously employed for 13 years as a corporate artist at Banner Health System, Fargo, N.D.
He previously worked as a graphic designer for David Hetland, former artist of the Concordia Christmas Concert murals for 28 years.
Bryan Duncan
Director, Campus Lighting
Director of campus lighting since 1991, Bryan Duncan has designed the staging and lighting for more than 400 events. He produced the multimedia display for the 2006 Christmas Concert that memorialized the work of muralist David Hetland. Duncan has received the Meritorious Achievement Award several times from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival and his groundbreaking lighting designs for a 2003 Concordia Theatre production was the subject of feature stories in three national publications.
History of the Concordia Christmas Concert
Since 1927, the Concordia Christmas Concerts have become a vital part of life within this institution, the community-at-large and a good portion of the Upper Midwest.
Clara Duea, Concordia's piano and organ professor, organized the Concordia Music Club in 1927 and one of their activities was a Christmas program. The very first concert was performed in Old Main's chapel, but in 1928 it was moved to Moorhead's Trinity Lutheran Church.
Paul J. Christiansen
Christiansen joined the faculty at Concordia in 1937. Among his responsibilities was the continuation of the Christmas Concert. This was the same year the concert venue began to alternate between Trinity and First Lutheran in Fargo.
Cyrus M. Running
Running came to Concordia in 1940 to head the fledgling art department. He had an interest in both art and music and began creating a backdrop for the Christmas Concerts his very first year.
The first backdrop was a large blue sheet of sateen behind a single suspended star. He simulated stained glass windows to cover the church's choir and organ lofts.
Increasing Demand
In 1943, the concert venue was moved to the Moorhead Armory to accommodate the ever-increasing public demand.
After the war, with gas rationing no longer a deterrent to travel, people began coming from even greater distances. The Forum newspaper once took a survey and discovered that the Concordia Christmas Concert was the single event that attracted the greatest number of out-of-town visitors and generated the greatest economic impact on local businesses.
By 1946, three performances were held and within six years five were required to handle the demand. In 1952, Memorial Auditorium was completed and has since been the home of the Moorhead concerts.
In 1975, the college took its show to Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis. This was an effort to broaden Concordia's outreach and to strengthen its ties with a large Twin Cities constituency of alumni and friends.
Changing Hands
Running's final Christmas Concert mural was in 1973. He died on Christmas day in 1976 at the age of 62. Christiansen continued with the Christmas Concerts through 1985.
Running was replaced on the art faculty by Paul Allen, who designed the Christmas Concert murals from 1974 to 1977.
David J. Hetland took responsibility for the art from 1978 to 2005, working first with Christiansen and, after 1986, with Dr. René Clausen, who succeeded Christiansen on the music faculty and as conductor of The Concordia Choir.
After dedicating 34 years to The Concordia Choir, Clausen retired in 2020 and Dr. Michael Culloton took over the role of artistic director for the Christmas Concert.
In 2009, newly commissioned artist Paul Johnson designed and printed the mural digitally for the first time in the concert's history. This is how the mural is created today.
The Concordia Christmas Concerts now include four choirs and a full orchestra. There are four performances in Moorhead and two in Minneapolis. The concert is broadcast on regional radio stations.
Approximately every five years, the event is recorded for airing on public and commercial television stations across the country.


Could DNA Help Doctors Predict Opioid Addiction?
New research out of Bentley University aims to explore the genetic links between human DNA and opioid addiction. The new study could help doctors identify patients susceptible to opioid dependence and choose different treatment methods.
A new partnership between Bentley University and Gravity Diagnostics will allow researchers to begin exploring the genetic links between patients and opioid addiction. The research project aims to help better inform doctors on how likely a patient is to become addicted to opioids before ever prescribing opioid drugs. The new data could also be used to predict how patients addicted to opioids will respond to certain treatments.
The opioid crisis remains one of the most critical issues facing U.S. healthcare, with more than 20 percent of patients who are prescribed opioids for chronic pain falling into opioid abuse, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The latest figures show that more than 115 people die every day from opioid overdose in the United States, and 80 percent of heroin users began by misusing prescription opioids.
Chris Skipwith, assistant professor of Biotechnology at Bentley and the project's principal investigator, said that identifying opioid addiction susceptibility could be the first step toward preventative diagnostic solutions that could actually curb opioid abuse.
The three-year partnership with Gravity Diagnostics will include researchers from Bentley's natural and applied sciences, sociology, and economics departments, in addition to a public health geneticist. The team of researchers will begin a three-phase study that will use data analytics to identify which genetic features are the best predictors of addiction and response to treatment, and then pair the data with Gravity's existing diagnostic platform.
From there the group will work with select patient populations to validate the integrative tool and explore psychological, emotional, and other potential predictors of opioid dependence. Finally, Skipwith said the group will analyze the potential economic benefits of the integrative tool for determination of susceptibility to opioid dependence. The study also hopes to better understand other addiction factors, such as why some people become addicted right away, while others take months to form an addiction.
With the opioid crisis quickly moving into epidemic territory, it's clear to all involved that time is of the essence. Skipwith hopes that this new partnership with Gravity Diagnostics will not only enhance our understanding of opioid addiction, but soon pave the way for a new integrative tool that can begin to improve diagnosis and treatment.