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FEMGEN 134: The Marriage Plot
Terms: not given this year | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-SI | Grading: Letter (ABCD/NP)
FEMGEN 144F: Female Modernists: Women Writers in Paris Between the Wars
The course will focus on expatriate women writers - American and British - who lived and wrote in Paris between the wars. Among them: Edith Wharton, Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, H.D., Djuna Barnes, Margaret Anderson, Janet Flanner, Natalie Barney, Kay Boyle, Mina Loy, Romaine Brooks, Mary Butts, Radclyffe Hall, Colette, and Jean Rhys. A central theme will be Paris as a lure and inspiration for bohemian female modernists, and the various alternative and emancipatory literary communities they created.
FEMGEN 145: Culture Wars: Art and Social Conflict in the USA, 1890-1950 (AMSTUD 145M, ARTHIST 145, ARTHIST 345)
This course examines social conflicts and political controversies in American culture through the lens of visual art and photography. We consider how visual images both reflect and participate in the social and political life of the nation and how the terms of citizenship have been represented¿and, at times, contested¿by artists throughout the first half of the 20th century. The class explores the relation between American art and the body politic by focusing on issues of poverty, war, censorship, consumerism, class identity, and racial division.
Terms: not given this year | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-ED | Grading: Letter (ABCD/NP)
FEMGEN 150: Sex, Gender, and Power in Modern China (CHINA 115, CHINA 215, FEMGEN 250)
Terms: Spr | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-ED | Grading: Letter (ABCD/NP)
Instructors: Inouye, M. (PI) ; Lee, H. (PI) ; Xu, H. (PI)
FEMGEN 150 | 3-5 units | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-ED | Class # 33122 | Section 01 | Grading: Letter (ABCD/NP) | SEM | Students enrolled: 3
04/03/2017 - 06/07/2017 Mon, Wed, Fri 3:30 PM - 4:20 PM at 540-108 with Inouye, M. (PI); Lee, H. (PI); Xu, H. (PI)
Instructors: Inouye, M. (PI); Lee, H. (PI); Xu, H. (PI)
FEMGEN 150D: Women Poets (ENGLISH 150D)
FEMGEN 150D | 5 units | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II | Class # 20391 | Section 01 | Grading: Letter or Credit/No Credit | SEM
01/09/2017 - 03/17/2017 Mon, Wed 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM at 80-115 with Boland, E. (PI)
FEMGEN 160: Performance and History: Rethinking the Ballerina (DANCE 160, TAPS 160, TAPS 260)
The ballerina occupies a unique place in popular imagination as an object of over-determined femininity as well as an emblem of extreme physical accomplishment for the female dancer. This seminar is designed as an investigation into histories of the ballerina as an iconographic symbol and cultural reference point for challenges to political and gender ideals. Through readings, videos, discussions and viewings of live performances this class investigates pivotal works, artists and eras in the global histories of ballet from its origins as a symbol of patronage and power in the 15th century through to its radical experiments as a site of cultural obedience and disobedience in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Terms: Win | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-ED | Grading: Letter or Credit/No Credit
Instructors: Ross, J. (PI) ; Chaleff, R. (TA)
FEMGEN 160 | 4 units | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-ED | Class # 18939 | Section 01 | Grading: Letter or Credit/No Credit | LEC
01/09/2017 - 03/17/2017 Tue, Thu 3:00 PM - 4:50 PM at ROBLEG139 with Ross, J. (PI); Chaleff, R. (TA)
Instructors: Ross, J. (PI); Chaleff, R. (TA)
FEMGEN 177: Dramatic Writing: The Fundamentals (CSRE 177, TAPS 177, TAPS 277)
Course introduces students to the basic elements of playwriting and creative experimentation for the stage. Topics include: character development, conflict and plot construction, staging and setting, and play structure. Script analysis of works by contemporary playwrights may include: Marsha Norman, Patrick Shanley, August Wilson, Suzan-Lori Parks, Paula Vogel, Octavio Solis and others. Table readings of one-act length work required by quarter's end.
Terms: Aut, last offered Autumn 2016 | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-CE | Grading: Letter or Credit/No Credit
Instructors: Moraga, C. (PI)
FEMGEN 177 | 4 units | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-CE | Class # 15945 | Section 01 | Grading: Letter or Credit/No Credit | SEM
09/26/2016 - 12/09/2016 Mon 1:30 PM - 4:20 PM at Memaud125 with Moraga, C. (PI)
FEMGEN 183: Re- Imagining American Borders (AMSTUD 183, CSRE 183)
How novelists, filmmakers, and poets perceive racial, ethnic, gender, sexual orientation, and class borders in the context of a current volatile national discussion about the place of Americans both here and in the world. How Anna Deavere Smith, Sherman Alexie, Shailja Patel or Ta-Nehisi Coates consider redrawing such lines so that center and margin, or self and other, do not remain fixed and divided. How linguistic borderlines within multilingual literature by Caribbean, Arab, and Asian Americans function. Can Anzaldúa's 1986 conception of borderlands be constructed through the matrix of language, dreams, music, and cultural memories in these recent American narratives? Course includes creatively examining one's own identity.
Terms: Aut | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-ED | Grading: Letter or Credit/No Credit
Instructors: Duffey, C. (PI)
FEMGEN 183 | 5 units | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-ED | Class # 15756 | Section 01 | Grading: Letter or Credit/No Credit | SEM | Students enrolled: 2
09/26/2016 - 12/09/2016 Mon, Wed 3:00 PM - 4:20 PM at School of Education 229 with Duffey, C. (PI)
FEMGEN 188Q: Imagining Women: Writers in Print and in Person (CSRE 188Q)
Gender roles, gender relations and sexual identity explored in contemporary literature and conversation with guest authors. Weekly meetings designated for book discussion and meeting with authors. Interest in writing and a curiosity about diverse women's lives would be helpful to students. Students will use such tools as close reading, research, analysis and imagination. Seminar requires strong voice of all participants. Oral presentations, discussion papers, final projects.
Terms: Aut | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-ED, Writing 2 | Grading: Letter (ABCD/NP)
Instructors: Miner, V. (PI)
FEMGEN 188Q | 4-5 units | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-ED, Writing 2 | Class # 29749 | Section 01 | Grading: Letter (ABCD/NP) | ISS | Students enrolled: 12 / 14
09/26/2016 - 12/09/2016 Mon, Wed 2:30 PM - 4:20 PM at 20-21B with Miner, V. (PI)
FEMGEN 193: Late Imperial China (CHINA 183, HISTORY 193)
(Same as HISTORY 93. History majors and others taking 5 units, register for 193.) A survey of Chinese history from the 11th century to the collapse of the imperial state in 1911. Topics include absolutism, gentry society, popular culture, gender and sexuality, steppe nomads, the Jesuits in China, peasant rebellion, ethnic conflict, opium, and the impact of Western imperialism.
Terms: Spr | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-SI | Grading: Letter or Credit/No Credit
Instructors: Sommer, M. (PI)
FEMGEN 193 | 5 units | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-SI | Class # 21046 | Section 01 | Grading: Letter or Credit/No Credit | LEC
04/03/2017 - 06/07/2017 Tue, Thu 1:30 PM - 2:50 PM at 200-303 with Sommer, M. (PI)
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SEMAFO mourns passing of board chairman Jean Lamarre
SEMAFO | November 23, 2017 | 3:17 pm Africa Canada
MONTREAL, Nov. 23, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — SEMAFO (TSX:SMF) (OMX:SMF) announces with sadness the passing of Mr. Jean Lamarre, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Corporation, on November 22, 2017 following a short illness. Mr. Lamarre joined the Corporation's Board of Directors in 1997 and was appointed Chairman of the Board in 2000, a position he held until his demise.
"Jean made an indelible mark on SEMAFO, both in terms of his corporate governance expertise and his 45 years of experience in Africa," said President and CEO Benoit Desormeaux. "Over his 20-year tenure with SEMAFO, he brought unique insight, business acumen and leadership to the Corporation as it transitioned from an exploration company to a junior gold producer. He did this, always without compromising his values: the integrity of the Corporation, his deep love for Africa and its people, and his priority to SEMAFO's long-term sustainability. On behalf of SEMAFO's Board of Directors, management and employees, I express our deepest condolences to Jean's wife and family and our gratitude to an exceptional man. He will be sorely missed."
About SEMAFO
SEMAFO is a Canadian-based mining company with gold production and exploration activities in West Africa. The Corporation currently owns and operates the Mana Mine in Burkina Faso, which includes the high-grade satellite Siou deposit, and is targeting production start-up of the Boungou Mine in the third quarter of 2018. SEMAFO's strategic focus is to maximize shareholder value by effectively managing its existing assets as well as pursuing organic and strategic growth opportunities.
The information in this release is subject to the disclosure requirements of SEMAFO under the Swedish Securities Market Act and/or the Swedish Financial Instruments Trading Act. This information was publicly communicated on November 23, 2017 at 3:45 p.m., Eastern Standard Time.
SEMAFO
Robert LaVallière
Vice-President, Corporate Affairs & Investor Relations
Cell: +1 (514) 240 2780
Ruth Hanna
Analyst, Investor Relations
Tel. local & overseas: +1 (514) 744 4408
North America Toll-Free: 1 (888) 744 4408
Website: www.semafo.com
Sign Up for the Africa, Europe & Middle East Digest

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Steve Lamb is an outstanding golfer and an avid amateur photographer. Steve's photographic works are for his enjoyment and that of his family and friends. He has no current plans to publicly exhibit or sell his works.


Congratulations and Welcome to Marquette University and the Graduate School of Management!
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Dear TrendFem Friends,
Q & A with Nicholas George – Artistic Director of Instant Opera & Baritone
Everybody Can! Opera: Tosca (2019)
2018's Best of Theatre Post
Bampton Opera: Amahl and the night visitors (2018)
Q & A: Emma Stannard, Opera Singer
Q & A: Sinéad O Neill – Opera Director
Semites – The Bunker (2018)
Stagecake Podcast 5: Alexander Wolfe and James Seager, The Trench (2018)
Q & A: Tonderai Munyevu – Actor and Writer
Stagecake Podcast 4: Marc Kelly and Liz Chadwick, Baby (2018)
Q & A – John Holland: Composer and Conductor
Stage Cake Podcast
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Home /Q & A: Emma Stannard, Opera Singer
InterviewDecember 12, 2018
Gian-Carlo Menotti's much-loved family Christmas opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors, shall be performed as a semi-staged production at St John's Smith Square by Bampton Classical Opera. Emma Stannard – winner of Bampton Classical Opera Young Singers' Competition 2017 – will be singing the role of Amahl's mother. Here, Emma shares with us where her love for opera came from and gives a sneak peek of what kind of things to expect in this festive production.
When did you know singing opera was your calling?
It wasn't until I began my undergraduate degree at the Royal Northern College of Music that I knew opera was my calling. During my first term I saw my first live opera and had my first experience of performing in a college production – I fell in love with opera and have pursued it as a career ever since. As a teenager, I had weekly singing lessons that enabled me to build a strong classical technique and this is what inspired me to train at the highest level.
Did you know of Gian-Carlo Menotti's work or Amahl and the Night Visitors before you knew you were performing as the Mother?
I was familiar with Menotti's work but had never performed a role. This work was completely new to me and I fell in love with both the music and the characters as soon as I began learning it.
Speaking of Amahl and the Night Visitors, how do think children and families may feel after seeing a performance of the Christmas opera?
Amahl and the Night Visitors is an opera full of wonder, love and real human emotion. I hope that families connect with Amahl and his Mother's relationship and leave feeling excited about the magic of Christmas.
What kind of things did you do to prepare for this role?
I have spent a great deal of time speaking the text of this opera. Much of the music is incredibly conversational and finding the inflections of speech within musical passages has been a priority. I have also spent a lot of time thinking about my character and asking myself questions such as: why is she so short tempered with Amahl at the beginning of the opera? Is she lonely? If she were to have money, what exactly would she want? Asking these sorts of questions helps to bring a character to life and gives me the opportunity to make the character my own.
Bampton Classical Opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors
Have you performed at St. John's Smith Square before? If so, why do you think it is an ideal place to perform Amahl and the Night Visitors?
This will be my first time performing at St. John's Smith Square, I am very excited!
What has it been like in the rehearsal room, working with a talented cast including Felix Gillingwater and conductor Anthony Kraus?
I have had a brilliant time working with Anthony Kraus and Felix Gillingwater. Anthony brings an incredible amount of life and energy to this music and Felix and I are having a wonderful time creating a mother/son dynamic.
You're the winner of Bampton Classical Opera Young Singers' Competition 2017. What advice would you give to young aspiring opera singers?
My advice is to never give up on your dream. Pursuing a career as a performer can be difficult but if it is your ambition, never give up! Work hard, choose repertoire that helps you display your personality and stay true to the artist that you want to be.
Any performances planned for Emma in the new year?
I look forward to a number of engagements in the New Year including a recital in the London Handel Festival, performing at Garsington Opera as an Alvarez Young Artist and giving recitals at Handel House as part of the Handel House Talent Scheme.
Amahl and the Night Visitors is showing at St John's Smith Square, London SW1P 3HA on Sunday 16 December (3 pm) and in Bampton at St. Mary's Church on Friday 21 December (7.30 pm)
Click here to go to St. John's Smith Square's website, or click here for more information on Bampton Classical Opera and to book tickets.
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Q & A with Satriya Krisna – Opera Singer
Q & A: Jane Gray – Opera Director & Singer
TAGS: Amahl and the Night VisitorsAnthony KrausBampton Classical OperaChristmasChristmas OperaEmma StannardFelix GillingwaterGian-Carlo MenottiInterviewMenottiNick SalesoperaQ & ARobert Winslade AndersonSamuel PantcheffSt John's Smith SquareXavier Hetherington
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Peter Antonijevic
16:9 Enhanced
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
English, Hebrew
Audio commentary - by director
Cast/crew biographies
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment/Sony Pictures Home Entertainment . R4 . COLOR . 100 mins . MA15+ . PAL
I don't know why the Bosnian war was faught and I don't pretend to know. What I do know is that from the various Serbian and Croatian friends I have, they all have their own stories as told to them by their relatives overseas ho have experienced the atrocities first hand and yet it is endearing to see that we are all still a tight group of friends.
Savior is based on a true story about an American soldier named Joshua Rose (Dennis Quaid) who's wife and son were killed in a bombing. He takes the law into his own hands and goes on a shooting rampage to kill the bombers. To escape any sentence he changes his name and identity and joins the French Foreign Legion. After a short stint he moves on and joins the serbian forces to fight the Bosnian War.
With all the horrors that he has lived through, he has become a cold blooded killer with no remorse until he comes across a young serbian girl Maria (Nastassja Kinski) who bears the child of a muslim rapist. By not killing herself, she has dishonored her father and her country and is thus exiled from her home where Joshua must take care of her and her child. In doing so, Joshua learns to appreciate life once more as he did when he had his family.
This is an excellent transfer of what can be termed a low budget movie. This 2.35:1 16x9 transfer is rich in sharpness and detail and provides some excellent imagery of both the aftermath of the war in the cities and the beautiful country-side.
Color saturation is at a medium as the tone of the imagery is a little subdued with a dusty/dirty look to it all. I think the lack of saturation and vibrancy is intentional as war is never meant to be cheery and colorful.
Black level is excellent as is shadow detail giving depth to alot of the night scenes even though some sections render the background as pitch black. For what it is, the image is clearly represented here.
There is only a sole english 5.1 soundtrack on this disc which is used superbly. This is not a Saving Private Ryan mix as it is not all out war that is depicted but if ever you wanted a representation of what it would be like driving around the out-skirts of a war torn city and the outlining country side then here is your demonstration.
Never once did the soundtrack feel rehearsed and never once did it lack anything that it needed. All you get is all you need right from the dialogue being simple and clear, to the surrounds being used for emphasis of a scene to the bass being pushed when things got heavy.
There's nothing more to say really other than it is perfectly suited to the movie.
There is a simple handful of extras here.
Audio Commentary - Director Predrag Antonijevic provides some background information into the making of this movie and some insight into the conflict that ensued over there. His English is not the best and may deter alot of people from even attempting to continue on. It's decent enough.
Theatrical Trailer - a full frame trailer presented in 2 channel stereo.
I thought this was an excellent film depicting the effect war has on pride and the honor of your family and country. It's a little disturbing at times but these things happened and many things worse have been revealed.
Dennis Quaid puts in an excellent performance and it is surprising that this is the first I've ever heard of this movie as I don't recall it making it to the cinemas here at all. Recommended.
LINK: http://www.dvd.net.au/review.cgi?review_id=286
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Star Wars: Clone Wars - Volume 1
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The Fifth Element - Collectors Edition
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Duel - Special Edition
"Duel is easily the best bang-for-your-buck suspense car-chase, truck hounded thriller ever ... a must have for Spielberg and suspense fans."
Dodgeball - Uncut
"Sometimes the simplest of ideas for a movie pay off the best."
Ultimate Matrix Collection (10 Disc Box Set)
"If no-one can be told what the Matrix is, this Ultimate collection edition is the closest you're going to get to finding out."


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Showing results by narrator "Mark Gatiss" in All Categories
Plus Catalog
E.F. Benson's Ghost Stories
read by Mark Gatiss
By: E. F. Benson
Narrated by: Mark Gatiss
Mark Gatiss ( Sherlock, Doctor Who, Game of Thrones) reads chilling tales by the unsung master of the classic ghost story: E. F. Benson. There's nothing sinister about a London bus. Nothing supernatural could occur on a busy train platform. There's nothing terrifying about a little caterpillar. And a telephone, what could be scary about that? Don't be frightened of the dark corners of your room. Don't be alarmed by a sudden inexplicable chill.
E.F. Benson Classics Excellently Read by Gatiss
By Robert on 10-28-17
The M. R. James BBC Radio Collection
By: M. R. James
Narrated by: Mark Gatiss, James D'Arcy, Anton Lesser, and others
M. R. James was the master of the uncanny. His classic supernatural stories have haunted readers and listeners for over a century and been adapted countless times for radio, TV and film. This collection features dramatisations of 12 of his most popular stories: The Mezzotint, Casting the Runes, The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral, A Warning to the Curious, Rats, Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come To You, My Lad, The Tractate Middoth, Lost Hearts, The Rose Garden, Number 13, Martin's Close and Count Magnus.
Disappointing Package, Should've Been Longer
By Admiralu on 03-14-20
Narrated by: Mark Gatiss, James D'Arcy, Anton Lesser, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Derek Jacobi, Fenella Woolgar, full cast
By: Bram Stoker
When Jonathan Harker visits Transylvania to help Count Dracula with the purchase of a London house, he makes a series of horrific discoveries about his client. Soon afterwards, various bizarre incidents unfold in England: an apparently unmanned ship is wrecked off the coast of Whitby, a young woman discovers strange puncture marks on her neck and the inmate of a lunatic asylum raves about the 'Master' and his imminent arrival.
An old-fashioned masterpiece
The Man in Black: The Complete Series 1-4
Twenty Creepy Full-Cast Dramas
By: Various
Narrated by: Full Cast, Mark Gatiss
The Man in Black is waiting to make your acquaintance. Maybe you'll meet him on a bus, in the supermarket or at an airport luggage carousel. Perhaps he'll peer into your baby's pram or approach you in the corridor of a care home. Wherever you encounter him, he's eager to pass on his stories. Stories of darkness and death, myth and madness. Stories to unsettle and horrify.
Classic Horror
The Second Alien Worlds Collection
Five Classic Novelisations of Exciting TV Adventures Set on Distant Planets
By: Nigel Robinson, Terrance Dicks, Malcolm Hulke, and others
Narrated by: William Russell, Geoffrey Beevers, Mark Gatiss, and others
Five classic novelisations of exciting TV adventures set on distant planets! In The Sensorites, the First Doctor is forced into an uneasy alliance with a race of telepathic creatures from the Sense-Sphere. In Doctor Who and the Space War, the Third Doctor finds that a full-scale war between Earth and the planet Draconia seems inevitable. In Doctor Who and the Planet of the Daleks, the Third Doctor and Jo discover a vast army of Daleks waiting to mobilise and conquer on the planet Spiridon.
By: Nigel Robinson, Terrance Dicks, Malcolm Hulke, David Fisher
Narrated by: William Russell, Geoffrey Beevers, Mark Gatiss, John Leeson
Kay's Anatomy
A Complete (and Completely Disgusting) Guide to the Human Body
By: Adam Kay
Narrated by: Adam Kay, Sandi Toksvig, Rose Matafeo, and others
Explore each organ of the body in this immersive audiobook edition of Kay's Anatomy, read by Adam Kay with a full cast of voices, including Mark Gatiss, Sandi Toksvig, Andy Nyman and Lolly Adefope. Do you ever think about your body and how it all works? Like really properly think about it? The human body is extraordinary and fascinating and, well...pretty weird. Yours is weird; mine is weird; your maths teacher's is even weirder. This book is going to tell you what's actually going on in there and answer the really important questions.
Great book for children
Narrated by: Adam Kay, Sandi Toksvig, Rose Matafeo, Mark Gatiss, Lolly Adefope, Andy Nyman
Sherlock: The Essential Arthur Conan Doyle Adventures
By: Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat, Arthur Conan Doyle
Narrated by: Simon Vance, Mark Gatiss
The hit BBC series Sherlock has introduced a whole new generation of fans to Arthur Conan Doyle's legendary detective. In this unique collection, Sherlock co-creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss have selected their all-time favorite Sherlock Holmes adventures, providing listeners a curated masterclass in crime fiction. Each of these 19 tales, from Sherlock's first appearance in A Study in Scarlet to the late classic The Dying Detective, is a potent mix of murder, suspense, cryptic clues, red herrings, and revenge.
Excellent, except...
By AlaskaKayakMama on 11-15-17
Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time
By: Paul Cornell
An unabridged reading of the brand-new novelisation of the Twelfth Doctor's dramatic final adventure. Still reeling from his encounter with the Cybermen, the First Doctor stumbles through the bitter Antarctic wind, resisting the approaching regeneration with all his strength. But as he fights his way through the snowdrifts, he comes across the familiar shape of a blue police box and a mysterious figure who introduces himself as the Doctor....
Much better than the episode
By: Bram Stoker, Jonathan Barnes
Narrated by: Mark Gatiss, Joseph Kloska, Deirdre Mullins, and others
When a young solicitor, Jonathan Harker, visits the heart of Transylvania - ostensibly to meet reclusive nobleman Count Dracula - he cannot begin to imagine what horrors might lie in store for him there...or the chain of events he will set in motion at Castle Dracula. Soon, Dracula's bloodlust spreads to England's shores, and Harker's fiancée, Mina Murray, becomes embroiled in his affairs.
It's lovely
By theamazingcatherine on 01-27-18
Narrated by: Mark Gatiss, Joseph Kloska, Deirdre Mullins, Nigel Betts, Rupert Young, Katy Manning, Alex Jordan
Voice of the Fire
By: Alan Moore
Narrated by: Maxine Peake, Jason Williamson, Toby Jones, and others
Northampton. The center of England. Twelve extraordinary characters transport you through 6,000 years of astonishing history. As Alan Moore's place-writing masterpiece reaches its 25th anniversary, New Perspectives brings this expansive work to life through twelve immersive audio journeys.
Voice of the Fire -- A Conjuring Through Chant
By E F on 06-30-21
Narrated by: Maxine Peake, Jason Williamson, Toby Jones, Mark Gatiss, Alan Moore and multiple narrators
By: Graham Duff
Narrated by: Mark Gatiss, David Warner
The year is 2099 and Professor Nebulous (Mark Gatiss, League of Gentlemen) is the director of eco-troubleshooting organisation K.E.N.T. - the Key Environmental Nonjudgemental Taskforce. But it's so under-funded it subsidises its work by running a launderette. And the twintub's malfunctioned. In a post-apocalyptic England, cattle-clasm has wiped out the majority of the livestock, there are new months such as Octember and Janril, and climate change has formed a drizzly new season called Hamble.
This is great fun
By David on 02-24-12
The League of Gentlemen TV Series Collection
By: Reece Shearsmith, Jeremy Dyson, Mark Gatiss, and others
Narrated by: Mark Gatiss, Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton, and others
In a selection of episodes from series two of the award-winning black comedy, Reenie and Vinnie are in charge of the charity shop, Tubbs and Edward are looking to find a 'no-tail' mate for son David and friendly butcher Hilary Briss is holding a soiree for patrons of his 'special stuff'. In series three, Pauline is released from HMP Clitclink and harbours dreams of running her own pen shop, joke peddlar Lance regrets dabbling in the murky world of illegal body parts and Geoff travels to London to become a stand-up comedian.
By: Reece Shearsmith, Jeremy Dyson, Mark Gatiss, Steven Pemberton
Narrated by: Mark Gatiss, Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton, full cast
Count Karlstein
By: Philip Pullman
Can you hear the distant howling of hounds and the thunder of ghostly hooves? It's All Souls' Eve, and Zamiel the Demon Huntsman has come to claim his prey! He's headed straight for Castle Karlstein, where the evil count has hatched an evil plan; he'll sacrifice his two young nieces to save himself. Can Lucy and Charlotte outwit their uncle and his oily henchmen to escape their dreadful fate? From the award-winning author of The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife comes a spooky, funny thriller just right for those middle-grade listeners looking for horror - and humor.
Highly Enjoyable
By Cyndera on 10-11-21
Blood on Satan's Claw
By: Mark Morris - adapter, Piers Haggard, Robert Wynne-Simmons
Narrated by: Mark Gatiss, Reece Shearsmith, Thomas Turgoose, and others
Seventeenth-century England, and a plough uncovers a grisly skull in the furrows of a farmer's field. The skull disappears, but its malefic influence begins to work in insidious ways upon the nearby village of Hexbridge. First, the cows stop milking and the fruit turns rotten on the trees. Then, an insolent ungodliness takes hold of the local children, mysterious fur patches appear on limbs and people start disappearing.... Something evil is stirring in the woods.
Satanic Horror at it's best!
By Stevo on 02-16-18
Narrated by: Mark Gatiss, Reece Shearsmith, Thomas Turgoose, Alice Lowe, Ralph Ineson, Rebecca Ryan
Included in Plus membership
Free with Plus trial
Doctor Who - Phantasmagoria
By: Mark Gatiss
Narrated by: Peter Davison, Mark Strickson, Mark Gatiss, and others
The Tardis takes the Doctor and Turlough to the London of 1702, where a mysterious highwayman roams the streets, a local occultist has made contact with the dead and gentlemen of fashion are disappearing, only to find themselves in a chamber whose walls weep blood.... The time travellers become enmeshed in the hideous plan of Sir Nikolas Valentine, a gambler at the mysterious Diabola Club who always seems to have a winning hand.... Written by Mark Gatiss. Directed by Nicholas Briggs.
Game of Death.
By Chris Coyne on 03-10-16
Narrated by: Peter Davison, Mark Strickson, Mark Gatiss, Nicholas Briggs
Doctor Who and the Planet of the Daleks (Classic Novel)
By: Terrance Dicks
Jo peered through the panel and saw - nothing. Yet someone had entered the cabin. She could hear hoarse breathing and stealthy padding footsteps. A beaker rose in the air of its own accord, then dropped to the floor... After pursuing the Daleks through space, Doctor Who lands on the planet of Spiridon, in the midst of a tropical jungle... and finds more than Daleks. Vicious plants spitting deadly poison, invisible Spiridons attacking from all sides and, in hiding, a vast army waits... for the moment to mobilise and conquer.
Classic Doctor story
On the Town with The League of Gentlemen
By: Jeremy Dyson, Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton, and others
Narrated by: Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton, Reece Shearsmith, and others
Welcome to Spent, an isolated and rather odd town somewhere in the North. Its singular inhabitants lead blackly comic lives, from Dr Chinnery, the lethally incompetent vet and Pauline, the monstrous Restart Officer at the Job Centre, to the hideously exacting Dentons who impose their disturbing habits and pet toads upon their visiting nephew Ben.
By: Jeremy Dyson, Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton, Reece Shearsmith
Narrated by: Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton, Reece Shearsmith, Full Cast
A BBC Radio 4 Comedy Drama
By: Pierce Egan, Dan Tetsall
Narrated by: Mark Gatiss, Greg Wise, James Bachman, and others
Pierce Egan's renowned 19th-century comic novel adapted by Dan Tetsell is a rollicking real tour of the sprawling post-Regency metropolis in the years before the Victorians turned up and made everything boring.
stupidly juvenile
By noman on 11-29-21
Narrated by: Mark Gatiss, Greg Wise, James Bachman, Geoffrey McGivern, Dave Lamb, Amanda Abbington, Alex MacQueen, Morwenna Banks, full cast
Great Entertainers' Lives
A BBC Biography Collection
By: Joan Bakewell, Humphrey Carpenter, Francine Stock, and others
Narrated by: Matthew Parris, Julian Clary, Alan Davies, and others
One of the BBC's most acclaimed programmes, Great Lives has been a regular Radio 4 fixture for 20 years, presented by Joan Bakewell, Humphrey Carpenter, Francine Stock and Matthew Parris. Every week, a famous name is invited into the studio to nominate a figure from the past who has inspired them, and discuss their subject with the presenter and a guest expert.
By: Joan Bakewell, Humphrey Carpenter, Francine Stock, Matthew Parris
Narrated by: Matthew Parris, Julian Clary, Alan Davies, Mark Gatiss, Fiona Shaw, Joan Bakewell, Francine Stock, Humphrey Carpenter
All Souls' Eve is a night when nobody in the village of Karlstein dares to leave their homes. For that is the night that Zamiel, the Demon Huntsman, prowls through the forests in search of his prey.... This year, however, the Huntsman doesn't need to go searching. He knows exactly where to find his human prey. Ten years ago, he made a deal with the Count of Karlstein - and now the Demon Huntsman has come to collect his prize....


Fr. Xavier and Fr. Sal are all smiles as they are greeted by Sister Augustina and learn that she is also coming to DePere to represent Doksany at the General Chapter in July!
Once again we were warmly welcomed with coffee and cake in the dining room of the convent, where Sister Augustina gave us an overview of the history of her congregation. It was a real lesson in the history of this area of the world as well, and how politics and war affected the status of religion and the orders during the communist regime and the years following.
In the background of the above photo you see Fr. Adrian from Strahov Abbey in Prague. He is the chaplain for the sisters at Doksany. There are only seven sisters there at this time, and most of the them live a cloistered life. They earn their income from sewing and embroidering beautiful liturgical garments, along with selling various products from their herb gardens. Other than Sister Augustina and one other younger nun who helped serve coffee when we arrived we didn't see any of the other sisters.
The church adjacent to the convent survived intact because it was used as a parish church throughout that period, but the convent itself was neglected and deteriorated so the sisters are working to restore it as their finances allow.
Thanks to Ellen Mommaerts who figured out how to use the timer on her camera, we also got another great group photo including Sr. Augustina, Fr. Adrian and even our bus driver, Hans! We are pictured here beneath a gingko tree that has been growing on this site for more than 400 years already. It's impossible to describe what this place looks like in just a few words so I made another gallery of snapshots. I hope it gives everyone a glimpse of just how old this community is and how wonderful it is to see it rebuilding today.
Thanks Julie, you are a fabulous photographer!


The Centre offers excellent facilities for people with disabilities including showers and a hair dressing facility, social and sports group and the building is fully accessible to all.
Many different groups use the Centre ranging from Sports such as Archery and Judo, to more relaxing pastimes as Tai Chi and a Record Circle.
Pre-school groups are available throughout the week ( Mondays to Fridays).
Young people are catered for with activities such as Brownies, Guides, Police Cadets and after school clubs such Cricket and Kick Boxing.
For other users there are facilities such Social Clubs, Wine and Beer groups, Horticultural and Floral Art Societies.


Last year, the NCAA did something unprecedented: they approved a pilot program to provide travel stipends to the parents or guardians of men's and women's basketball student athletes participating in the Final Four (up to $3,000 per student athlete) and National Championship (an additional $1,000 per student athlete).
The program also authorized the College Football Playoff to provide up to $3,000 per student athlete for the College Football Playoff National Championship, although the CFP ultimately adopted a $2,500 per student athlete stipend program.
A month ago, the NCAA announced it would be extending the program for men's and women's basketball for a year, and then Tuesday the College Football Playoff followed suit and extended its program for another year.


Most mornings I have this little routine while I'm making breakfast of asking the Lord what we should work on today. It might sound a little weird, but it works for me, so just go with it. This quiet, contemplative, prayer time before I begin my day is so very important to me. In this space I will often think of others or specific things will come to my mind to pray and intercede for; it's a beautiful process. Then, after I've made my breakfast, I'll usually have a direction and a focus for my day as I sit down at my computer. I don't begin every day this way, but as often as I can, I follow this system.
This was what echoed in my heart today. So, in the midst of making my toast, I froze in my kitchen and listened.
I'm a busy bee, I'm always working on multiple projects, so things like "stillness" and "rest" are foreign concepts to me. Normally a command like this is met with groaning or moaning or complaining from me, but this time I just said "yes". And in that moment I was overcome with peace. Even now, as I'm writing this, my heart is full and my mind is at ease, I am content and confident right now.
Being still doesn't necessarily mean inactivity.
I believe there are times when we just need to let things go and stop for a moment and watch the Lord work. And when we take our hands off of whatever we've been hanging onto and give them to him, it turns out far better than we expected. This is by no means easy, but it always ends up working for our good.
But I think there are times when we can still be working, but work from a place of stillness of heart. There's a freedom that comes when you're not trusting in your own strength but relying fully on God, entrusting your plans and dreams to him, confident that he is able to do abundantly more than we can even imagine. I believe that's a form of stillness.
We don't need to wait for a sabbatical to be still and rest before the Lord. I think we can go through each day with this posture, submitting our minds and hearts to him. Stillness and silence is a form of surrender and trust. So let's submit, let's trust, let's be still and know that our God is for us and is fighting on our behalf.


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The Nitrate Picture Show returns to the George Eastman Museum in 2017
The 3rd Nitrate Picture Show will return to the George Eastman Museum May 5–7, 2017
Passes for the Festival of Film Conservation on sale beginning December 12
The George Eastman Museum will present the 3rd Nitrate Picture Show this spring. The festival will be held May 5–7, 2017 at the Dryden Theatre, the George Eastman Museum's historic venue for film exhibition in Rochester, NY. Festival passes for the Nitrate Picture Show, the world's festival of film conservation, will go on sale at 12:01 a.m. (EST) on Monday, December 12, 2016. Passes will be available for purchase through the museum's website at eastman.org/nps.
The 3rd Nitrate Picture Show will continue in the tradition of exhibiting pristine archival films on flammable stock from archives and museums in the United States and around the world, including prints from the Eastman Museum collection. Over the past two years, hundreds of people from more than 25 different countries have made the trip to Rochester to indulge in the nitrate experience at the George Eastman Museum. The official program, which is kept secret until the first day of the festival, will be announced at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 5.
"The Nitrate Picture Show is unlike any other festival of film preservation in that its 'rules of the game' are far more challenging—and often unpredictable," said Paolo Cherchi Usai, Senior Curator, Moving Image Department, George Eastman Museum. "Our selection is based primarily on the physical condition and on the pictorial beauty of the prints; the quality and reputation of the works themselves comes next."
"The festival is a true collaboration among our peers in a broad group of collecting institutions," Cherchi Usai continued, "which gives our attendees the opportunity to experience a diverse film program, workshops, lectures, and demonstrations, and come together to observe the aura of cinema as a live event."
Festival passes for the Nitrate Picture Show range in price from $125 to $250, and include admission to the festival's entire film program, including ten nitrate screenings. The festival will also feature lectures, workshops, and other opportunities to experience the art and science of film preservation, from print conservation to archival projection.
Festival Passes: May 5–7, 2017
Passes include admission to all screenings and lectures, plus complimentary entrance to the George Eastman Museum May 5–7, 2017. Patrons receive a special gift and recognition on-site and in print.
Patron Pass: $250
Festival Pass: $150
Student/Eastman Museum Member: $125
Workshop: How to Make Nitrate Film: Friday, May 5
Hour-long workshops will be offered in two individual sessions on Friday afternoon. Limited availability. Advance registration required. See website for times.
Guided Tour of the Louis B. Mayer Conservation Center: Friday, May 5
Hour-long tours of the museum's nitrate vaults will be offered at two times on Friday. Limited availability. Advance registration required. See website for times.
Guided Tour of the George Eastman Museum Technology Vault, Friday, May 5
Hour-long tours of the museum's technology collection will be offered at two times on Friday. Limited availability. Advance registration required. See website for times.
Can't wait until May to see nitrate on the big screen? The George Eastman Museum is screening a 35mm nitrate print of The Fallen Idol (Carol Reed, 1948), a 2015 Nitrate Picture Show favorite, on Friday, December 30, at 8 p.m. Tickets will be available at the Dryden Theatre box office.
About the George Eastman Museum Nitrate Collection
The museum holds one of the country's largest collections of nitrate prints, preserved at the Louis B. Mayer Conservation Center, a state-of-the-art facility located 12 miles southwest of Rochester. The George Eastman Museum is also a member of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF), the world's leading group in the field of film conservation and preservation, and the museum's collection of over 28,000 titles covers the entire history of cinema, from Edison and the Lumière brothers to contemporary works by Peter Greenaway and Tacita Dean.
About the George Eastman Museum
Founded in 1947, the George Eastman Museum is the world's oldest photography museum and one of the largest film archives in the United States, located on the historic Rochester estate of entrepreneur and philanthropist George Eastman, the pioneer of popular photography. Its holdings comprise more than 450,000 photographs, 28,000 motion picture films, the world's preeminent collection of photographic and cinematographic technology, one of the leading libraries of books related to photography and cinema, and extensive holdings of documents and other objects related to George Eastman. As a research and teaching institution, the Eastman Museum has an active publishing program and, through its two joint master's degree programs with the University of Rochester, makes critical contributions to film preservation and to photographic preservation and collections management. For more information, visit eastman.org.
Tags: Events, film, arts & culture


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What's On Open2…
Chatting with Stuart over a pint last week, he mentioned that the Open2 folks had started publishing a programme announcement feed on Twitter that lets you know when a TV programme the OU's been involved with is about to be shown on one of the BBC channels: open2 programme announcements on Twitter.
By subscribing to the RSS feed from the Open2 twitter account, it's easy enough to get yourself an alert for upcoming BBC/OU programmes.
The link goes through to the programme page on the open2 website, which is probably a Good Thing, but it strikes me that there's no obvious way to watch the programme from the Open2 page?
That is, there's no link to an iplayer or BBC programmes view, such as BBC Programmes > Coast:
If I'm reading the BBC Programmes Developers' Guide correctly, not all the URL goodness has been switched on for these URLs yet? For example, here's the guidance:
/programmes/:groupPID/episodes/upcoming
/programmes/:groupPID/episodes/upcoming/debut
/programmes/:groupPID/episodes/player
To access these add .xml, .json or .yaml to the end of the url.
Whilst http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mvlc works as I expect, http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mvlc/episodes requires a branch into a year – http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mvlc/episodes/2008, and I can't get the upcoming or format extensions to work at all?
As well as the BBC Programmes page, we can also find iPlayer links from a search on the iPlayer site: Search for "coast" on iPlayer:
Going back to the twitter feed, I wonder whether there's any point in having a second twitter account that alerts people as to when a programme is available on iplayer? A second alert could give you a day's notice that a programme is about to disappear from iPlayer?
Just by the by, here are a couple more BBC related things I spotted over the last few days: BBC Top Gear channel on Youtube; and BBC's Tomorrow's World to be revived (Telegraph).
Now if the "popular science magazine show" referred to is the one that was mentioned at the BBC/OU science programming brainstorming session I posted about a couple of weeks ago, I'm pretty sure the producer said it wasn't going to be like Tomorrow's World… Which I guess means it is – in that it is going to be like Tomorrow's World in terms of positioning and format, but it isn't going to be exactly like it in terms of content and delivery… (I have to admit that I got the impression is was going to be more like *** **** for Science… ;-)
Author Tony HirstPosted on August 25, 2008 August 25, 2008 Categories BBC, OBU, OU2.0
One thought on "What's On Open2…"
It seems that the BBC are going to start offering a series catch-up on iPlayer, for first run series:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2008/08_august/23/iplayer.shtml
After Twittering with Ian Roddis, my guess is iPlayer will be fee based outside UK (with outside chance of ad-based), "free-to-air" (like Freesat) in UK, with a subscription model for content in the UK outside the free periods (7 day catchup, series catchup on first run).
As to whether the OU should rethink the Broadcast strategy with iPlayer a major part of that, who knows?
Thinking back over the above open2 twitter alerts, it struck me that directing people to TV (by implication) and open2 web content might actually be a really clever thing to do, eg in context of people increasingly browsing alongside watching a tv programme… If they browse open2 content while watching OU co-pro, that's good for us, presumably?
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Q: Grabbing the image, post title, and post date from tumblr's API I found Nathan Scott's javascript snippet for embedding a tumblr feed on a static webpage extremely useful. But I am also finding it a bit too simple in terms of the info I want to get. With my limited knowledge I cannot seem to figure out how to also call the Post's Title and the Date so that I can style it with CSS. I would also ideally like to state that I only get the first photo from the regular post and truncate after X amount of characters but I've had no luck.
Any sort of help would be greatly appreciated!
here is the original code courtesy of Nathan Scott!
 <script type="text/javascript" src="http://collinsstreetmedia.tumblr.com/api/read/json">
 </script>

 <script type='text/javascript'>
  $("#announcement").html(
    tumblr_api_read["posts"][0]["regular-body"].substring(0,400)
  );
  $("#announcement_url").attr(
      {
        href: (tumblr_api_read["posts"][0]["url"])
      }
    );
 </script>

A: Try the following.
The endpoint you want for fetching a post is this:
http://api.tumblr.com/v2/blog/[TUMBLR WEBSITE HERE]/posts/text?api_key=[YOUR API KEY]

For example:
http://api.tumblr.com/v2/blog/citriccomics.tumblr.com/posts/text?api_key=[YOUR API KEY]

Then using jQuery you can call that request:
$.getJSON("http://api.tumblr.com/v2/blog/citriccomics.tumblr.com/posts/text?api_key=[YOUR API KEY]", function(data) {
   alert(data); // Do something with 'Data', your JSON response.
});

To actually parse JSON you can use something simple like:
var responseData = $.parseJSON(data);
alert(responseData.response.posts);

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Student Stories /
Stepping Up
Lydia Smits Programs of study: Nursing Hometown: Crete, Illinois
When Lydia arrived at Dordt halfway through her freshman year as a transfer student, she was quiet and shy. She was not the student to participate in class or individually meet with professors. Her time at Dordt changed her as a student, person, and child of God.
"Dordt has allowed me to help in the community and gain so many different experiences," she says. "I have been able to join clubs, join athletics, and be a voice, whether that be in my field, or on the volleyball court. I have become the student who is the first to raise her hand. I have become the student who is first to volunteer to help my department. I am the student who now pushes to be uncomfortable for the sole purpose of growth. Dordt has had such a large impact on the person I am today."
Lydia is grateful for the education she received at Dordt, and for the summer internship that helped her grow and led to her full-time job at Avera's Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit in Sioux Falls.
"I was able to be a part of an internship at Avera during the summer before my senior year, which helped me grow incredibly as a nurse," she says. "Dordt has provided me with the education and the opportunity to receive an internship in this unit that ultimately led to a job!"
Most importantly, Lydia's time at Dordt has prepared her to serve God. She writes, "I am ready to enter the world with my Christian education from Dordt University behind me. I am ready to serve in Christ's kingdom in the sphere of nursing through the many lessons I have gained during my time at Dordt University."
CommunicationHealthcare Communication
Emphasis, Major
An Edge on the Competition
Siennah Stamness
Rubbing Shoulders
Nathan Ryder
View All Dordt Stories


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Q: User registration on sub site I have configured multi-site wordpress. I have some sub-sites as like site1.mydomain.com and site2.mydomain.com. Now i just want to enable the user registration on my sub-sites.
When a user clicks on register link in any sub-site (site1.mydomain.com or site2.mydomain.com) it takes them to the main site(mydomain.com) and register them as an administrater of another site. so he will be having another site as (site2.mydomain.com).
But i want is that, if the user clicks the register link on the sub-site (ex:site1.mydomain.com) they should be register only on that sub-site itself and become the member only for that site with some roles.
I am very new to wordpress. I dont even know the coding standard of the wordpress. But i hope i can manage these things. Now i am just roaming around with the plugins.
Please some one help me for this.

A: There is a new plugin that covers this functionality..
https://wordpress.org/plugins/network-subsite-user-registration/
its based on the guidance from https://halfelf.org/2012/multisite-registration/ and extends this to create a simple plugin solution allowing the networkwide activation to be seemless to the user registration on the subsite.

A: What you've described is default behavior for WordPress where when a user registers on a subsite, they're really registering with the root site.
Check out this plugin, which looks to help with new user sign ups and adding them to the right subsite.
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wpmu-default-user-role/
If that plugin isn't what you're looking for then perhaps this one is.
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/multisite-user-registration-manager/
A couple options for you to check out.
A word of advice, be sure to back everything up (including your database!) in case something goes wrong, you have a way to go back to a working site.


text:
Jennifer Buys
L.Ac., LMT, Lic. #6025, AC 00482
Gen FAQs
Chinese Medicine is a complete medical system that has over 2,500 years of documented use and clinical efficacy. It is a system of medicine capable of treating a wide range of conditions, and it utilizes techniques such as herbal medicine, acupuncture, dietary therapy, and exercises in breathing and movement. Traditional Chinese Medicine is truly holistic; that is, the human body and its systems are viewed not only in isolation, but also in terms of how they interrelate, and whether they are in harmony with their environment.
The treatment of illness is based primarily on the diagnosis and differentiation of syndromes. A diseased state is seen as an imbalance of the fundamental energies that flow within the body, resulting in a blockage, excess, or deficiency of Qi, or vitality. Clinical strategies work to restore a state of balance, resulting in a resolution of symptoms. In this way, the root cause of the disease is treated, not just the symptoms.
Therapeutic Bodywork
927 NW Grant Avenue
Jennifer Buys, L.Ac., LMT
Lic. #6025, AC 00482
Contact Jennifer directly to schedule an appointment.
Please visit the Contact page to send Jennifer a direct message.
I have known Jen for a long time, and I have the utmost respect for her. Her skill as a healer is matched by her compassion. I consider her to be one of the best acupuncturists (and more) in this area, and I have recommended her many times. Whether you're just trying acupuncture for the first time, or have used it for a long time and you're looking for a new provider, Jen is a fantastic option. — Geoffrey W.
New Insurance Coverage for Acupuncture August 30, 2021
New Office – 9/21/2021! August 30, 2021
Website designed/managed by Marketing By Web-Design - Portland, Oregon


This isn't so much a teen/tween question per se–it's more of a relationship question. You mentioned in one of your recent columns about the challenges you and your husband experienced due to the fact that he came into your life when you already had two kids, and it's never really been just the two of you.
My husband and I have one kid who is still young, but we got pregnant with him after we'd only been dating a year, and we didn't even end up getting married until after our son was born. And the first few years were chaotic, to say the least: multiple serious life/career/financial/family/personal/health crises and major life events happened over just a few short years, and I feel like we've never even had a chance to catch our breath.
Maybe some of this is normal, and my husband and I love each other so much. BUT. Sometimes it feels like every single thing that has happened to us has just been one storm to be weathered after another, and it's all been about our kid or other people and is never been about us, you know? I mean, our honeymoon was two nights in a hotel while my parents watched our kid, and I was still breastfeeding at the time so we would have to stop in the midst of romantic couple time so I could pump, and then we had to leave early because the kiddo was running a high fever, which I think sums up where we've been at in a nutshell.
Do you have any advice for couples that have pretty much never had just a chance to be just a couple? Any strategies beyond "make sure you have a date night!" would be helpful. I feel like I need some help reframing this or something. I mean, we still have more than 10 years with a kiddo in the house and that seems like too long to keep up this pace. I just want to feel like we do something, ANYTHING, more than just get through whatever the current crisis surrounding our family is, and wait for the next one.
If I knew the definitive solution to this one, I'd be rich. No matter the circumstances preceding it, a couple feeling like they're simply weathering one parenting storm after another is not in that place of "nurturing the adult relationship" that all of the experts and self-help literature tells us is so super-important. It's hard and demoralizing and it's a problem, because without that good foundation, together, eventually something is going to break. It might be your marriage, it might be one of you individually, it might be something else, but my point here is twofold: First, that you are right to be concerned that this isn't a sustainable way to live and cultivate a healthy marriage, and second, that plenty of couples go through this (so you are definitely not alone).
Also, I have to tell you I laughed out loud at "make sure you have a date night!" because yes, why is that always the only suggestion anyone ever has?? If it was that simple, no one would have a problem. Sometimes you can't manage that date night. Sometimes date night is not enough. I mean, sure—do date night, if you can, by all means. But it's not the answer. The answer is multifaceted and will depend on your particular family and situation.
I'm happy to share with you some of the things we've done; these may not all be the right solutions for you, but some suggestions may strike a useful chord, and if not, perhaps it can get you thinking about different approaches that will work better for you and your husband.
So let's start there, with this whole "date night cures everything" fallacy. Dismantle it; broaden its scope. The reason this is such a pervasive directive is not because date night is a magic bullet, but because couples in crisis (or even just mired in "busy") may forget to find time to focus just on each other. So, again, if you can manage a date night and enjoy it, fabulous! But if not, make a date for a late breakfast at the local diner when the kiddo's at school or do a late-night takeout dinner after he's in bed. Go grocery shopping together, even, while your son is on a playdate. This doesn't have to be a night on the town to be useful. It's simply about being purposeful in finding some time—any time—to be together, just the two of you, without your child, sometimes. Honestly, we've been through long periods of time where "date night" was an unattainable fantasy. So we went on errands together, instead. It wasn't ideal, but at the time, it was the best we could do and it got us some "just the two of us" time.
As long as we're dabbling in overused suggestions, have you heard the one about putting on your own oxygen mask first? If life is stressful, take honest stock in your own mental and physical health and make course corrections as necessary. Given the nature of my particular family's challenges, I don't think it will come as a surprise to anyone to hear that every member of my household (well, not the dogs) has his/her own therapist. Yep. We did family therapy as needed, too, but I'm a big believer in individual therapy. Similarly, as stress mounts, both my husband and I tend to retreat into food and couch potato-ism. Sometimes I need to get eating better and exercising again before I can even think about being a useful partner, and so I try to take responsibility for my own "stuff" in an effort to be more available to everyone else, y'know? And it turns out that my husband and I are useful supports for one another in eating better (and cooking together is fun) and getting more exercise (when the weather permits, our evening walk is one of my favorite times with him). Again, this may not be exactly what you need, but what do you need, in terms of taking care of you?
Depending on the nature of your days/lives, there may not be anything to change or optimize, but it's worth taking a look. Who's handling what? What creates the craziest days? Is there a way to change things up? Is your son getting what he needs, and if so, is it at the expense of your marital relationship (are you spending your whole lives driving him back and forth to activities, for example) or does it feel like a good balance? Are you eating together as a family? Are chores well-distributed or is someone bearing the main brunt of running the household? These are all things to look at—during a calm time when everyone is willing to be open and honest—to see how everyone's feeling. You may be surprised at what your husband says, or he may be shocked by something you say. Who knows? You may come out of this with everything staying the same, but at least everyone will know how everyone else feels about it, and it (hopefully) removes any festering resentment.
Where do you want to be in 10 years? How about 5? How about next year? I think we can all agree it would be unhealthy to just accept the status quo and say, "Well, the kid will be in college in 10 years, I guess we'll do all this stuff after that!"; at the same time, I think there's some value in planning for changes down the line. If nothing else, a conversation about the future can open your eyes to what you each really want, and help you figure out what to prioritize now to bring you both closer to your goals. These talks can be a little scary—I am very much a homebody and my husband would happily live his whole life as a nomad, so we are constantly in negotiations—but they strengthen both your understanding of and connection with each other, beyond just being conversations about logistics. How can you bring some "someday" into "right now?" I know during hard times my inclination is to refuse to think beyond the next minute, but broadening your view this way has all sorts of benefits, from making the awful-which-feels-like-forever feel more maybe-not-forever to strengthening those common-goal connections with your spouse.
Sometimes when couples are floundering a little or feeling disconnected, I feel like the focus is always on what they can do together (which, sure, makes some sense), but never on what they can do for one another when they're apart, which I think is a miss when it comes to building a solid partnership. It may seem counter-intuitive to spend time away from your partner when you feel like your relationship needs more nurturing, but that's exactly what I'm suggesting. When things here got really bad/stressful, both my husband and I stopped doing pretty much anything other than tending to our family and working. Any free time (ha!) we had was spent either talking about how miserable everything was or sitting on the couch watching television and trying to pretend everything wasn't miserable. That was… not great, either for our marriage or our mental health in general. One of the things we've become very purposeful about is encouraging one another to pursue our hobbies and friendships outside of what we do together. So I make sure my husband goes to Cars & Coffee and reconnects with his racing friends so that he gets his fix of talking old cars with fellow gearheads. He encourages me to take an afternoon and go out with friends or to hit up a networking event or pick up a new hobby. It sounds small—and it is, kind of—but particularly if you're still in a place where your kids need supervision, saying "I've got this, go! Have fun!" is a gift to one another.
At the end of the day, this is not a problem to be solved with a "quick fix" or a single approach, nor (sorry!) is it something to patch and forget. Good partnerships have one thing in common: they are constant works in progress. What works this week may not be enough a few months from now. But the flip side is true, too—what's hard today may be a non-issue in a year. The best first step is to communicate honestly with one another about what's going on and what you want, and then go from there. Good luck!


text:
Photograph courtesy of the author
A. E. Osworth
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What It Means to Be Trans in My Tiny Town
s.e. smith
Culture | Queer Life
Taking Thirst Traps to Preserve Myself—and My Transition—in the Middle of the Pandemic
There is something attractive about being the subject and the artist all at once; of being entirely in control of how I am seen, who sees me.
"I mean, you would be surprised how many women like getting fucked by an unclassifiable monster. [Relax: I'm reclaiming the term. I like it. I mean, when uttered in certain contexts out of certain mouths. Must I justify everything?]"
— Confessions of the Fox by Jordy Rosenberg
In California, it is month two of lockdown and I'm early on testosterone—about four months—so I'm breaking two cardinal rules: We, the trans mascs, don't talk about early transition because it will be embarrassing for my people and eventually for me; we, the writers, don't talk about the pandemic because everyone is talking about the pandemic.
And here I sit, extremely proud of myself that I finally thought to turn on the timer to take a photo of myself with my phone. That without asking anyone, or admitting that I would like to reproduce an image of my body, I thought of filling a jar with water and propping my phone against it. I took a whole-ass armchair out onto the porch, which is really a balcony, but which I call a porch because "plague porch" makes for good alliteration. The sun sinks into evening; the people who occupy the plague porch above me are smoking weed. The scent curls around me like a settling dog.
I am locked down with one cis person in an apartment that isn't mine, having been on the West Coast before the pandemic struck us all down and now stuck here after. I usually live in New York City. I am extremely sad. And somehow all I want to do is take photos of myself in which I look hot, and send them to other people to show them how hot I look. That is a thirst trap: It initiates desire, one's own and others. A deeply horny act in the face of global tragedy. I can't really explain the cognitive dissonance away.
I search for theory. Theory is a category of reading I've been able to keep up with, even as the pandemic depletes my ability to pay attention. I feel like I only understand a quarter of it at the best of times, so nothing has changed. I look for the theory that explains the thrill of thirst trapping, that contextualizes my transness in my desire to artfully examine the shapes I make in physical space. A newfound ability to look at my own body and an obsession with doing so. When I chopped my tits off, I could finally look in a mirror. Never before have I wanted a photographic record of what I saw there.
I cannot find any scholarly papers on the taking of thirst traps and the trans body. I turn, instead, to Susan Sontag.
I oscillate wildly between wishing Sontag were alive to write about Instagram and being very glad that I don't have to read Sontag's On Instagram . Instead, what I think I will use to process my newfound obsession: "In teaching us a new visual code, photographs alter and enlarge our notions of what is worth looking at and what we have a right to observe." It is from the first essay in On Photography , titled "In Plato's Cave." I am reading it in the bath.
There are plenty of other seemingly relevant nuggets, of course, from that essay and others. Things that seem to speak from the past to right now, that use the new buzzwords: "What is surreal is the distance imposed, and bridged, by the photograph: the social distance and the distance in time." I should be fixated on those, as well.
What I actually cannot stop thinking about: Sontag's writing about Diane Arbus's "thing" for "the Halloween crowd." People Sontag calls freaks. People about whom she writes: "Do they see themselves, the viewer wonders, like that ? Do they know how grotesque they are? It seems as if they don't." Even a cursory look at Arbus's body of work answers the question—yes, me and mine would be included in "the Halloween crowd." I don't love thinking of us this way; also, I do. The freedom from normality gives one permission to do anything. To break any rule.
4 26 20. The date is stamped on the subject's inner thigh, directly on the subject's body hair. The subject sits on a fluffy blanket, the pile of which is clearly synthetic. It is grey, which contrasts the blue-stitched red boxers nicely. It puts the subject's wide-legged seat—a crotch-bearing seat, honestly—squarely in the foreground. It is, perhaps, where the eye goes first. Directly between the legs, though only one leg is visible. The other falls out of frame. The subject's arms rest behind the head, elbows arcing up toward the sky—the elbows are very pointy. The subject wears glasses and smirks at the camera, stares directly at it, with fingers resting softly on the neck. The subject has a massive, visible chin zit. The faintest shadow is present above the lip; essence de mustache.
The subject's gender is indeterminate.
In California, I text friends from the plague porch in the dark. Friends whom I know very well and to whom I send my thirst traps; acquaintances I only casually know from the internet to whom I do not send my thirst traps. All trans, all with vastly different understandings of their bodies, their genders, all also staying at home but in very different circumstances—by themselves, with cis people, with other trans people, with partners or friends or roommates they cannot stand.
They thirst trap in different ways. They do it for the internet, for romantic friendships, for platonic group texts, for significant others, for prospective dates in the After Times, whenever those might happen. And they've all noticed a difference. They fall into two camps: those who want to thirst trap more—a desire that mirrors mine—and those who feel it impossible to feel oneself. Nearly everyone's relationship to taking sexy photographs has changed.
I repeat the same refrain as I speak to them all: I have never been hot before, and I'm afraid I won't be anymore when quarantine is over. That this state of being is delicate, ephemeral. That I am not quarantined with any trans people, and my slow werewolf transformation from butch to twink will not be properly witnessed, encouraged, or remembered. Some of my friends think I want to hear that I have always been hot; some of them tell me so. But some know exactly what I'm saying—this slice of time feels especially impermanent and I cannot tell if it's hormones or pandemic or both.
Nearly everyone's relationship to taking sexy photographs has changed.
Of course, more Sontag. Of physical photographs, she says: "They age, plagued by the usual ills of paper objects; they disappear; they become valuable, and get bought and sold; they are reproduced." This statement isn't entirely true anymore. Only some photographs disappear, and even then, not really, not the digital ones. They do not become as valuable—there is an ocean of them now, each one a single molecule that makes up the visual internet. Reproduced ad infinitum until, rather than aging, they become impossible to kill.
Is that what I am doing—becoming ageless? In the absence of my meatspace body living in the minds of my people, am I preserving this slice of time to be accessed later? Am I imbuing my early-testosterone body with immortality, marking its existence? Since when did I want my body at all, let alone to make it last for human eternity?
"It feels like a protest against this idea that it's polite to not find yourself attractive," my friend A. Andrews says to me over Zoom when I ask them about thirst trapping. A is a writer and a comic artist. They think about the arrival of bodies in digital space quite a lot, usually because they are drawing bodies into existence. A falls into category two—less thirst trapping, more existential crises. But they talk to me about it anyway.
"It's considered rude or self-involved to think you're hot," A says. "This idea that we have to kind of think of ourselves as objectively neutral or below is weird. Thirst traps are a protest against this notion that we should all feel kind of medium about ourselves."
I consider my adherence to a politeness written upon the hearts of girl-children, the over-emphasis of humble-as-virtue. It is an insurance that anyone with any relationship to girlhood, regardless of gender or outcome, will feel squeamish taking up a reasonable amount of space. Will disparage their own body until they feel less than they are: stunning. Everyone is stunning and I really believe that; everyone, of course, except for me.
Fuck that. I would rather be the Halloween crowd, unshackle myself from the normals. Love myself just a little bit more.
5 26 20. Same subject, wildly different house—the viewer can tell because the door behind the person is open to a wall of bright orange, and there was nothing nearly as garish in the last few photos. The left arm reaches up; a suggestion of joy. The hand is cut off at the top by an ornate, curling frame—the entire body is centered in the reflection of an oval mirror. A shining scar is visible, featured even, and extends from armpit to armpit. The red boxers make a reappearance. The subject's smile seems forced.
I am locked down with one cis person and then, suddenly, I am not. I move into an Airbnb by myself. I don't want to talk about the details. I send thirst traps to a friend. He sends them back. We comment on our respective testosterone-induced babeliness: the cut of our shoulders, the shapes of our faces, the mechanics of shaving our whisker-whispers.
Sontag fights Sontag while I am here, alone: "To photograph is to confer importance. There is probably no subject that cannot be beautified; moreover, there is no way to suppress the tendency inherent in all photographs to accord value to their subjects." This idea brawls with: "The photographer's ardor for a subject has no essential relation to its content or value, that which makes a subject classifiable. It is, above all, an affirmation of the subject's thereness; its rightness (the rightness of a look on a face, of the arrangement of a group objects), which is the equivalent of the collector's standard of genuineness; it's quiddity—whatever qualities make it unique."
We comment on our respective testosterone-induced babeliness: the cut of our shoulders, the shapes of our faces, the mechanics of shaving our whisker-whispers.
I look at photos of myself. I describe them to myself. By taking the photo, by taking the time, I am conferring value upon myself and my body-in-process; neither would I suggest that the content or value makes the subject classifiable. It is an ouroboros of meaning: I confer meaning upon myself, I affirm my thereness, my rightness; my desire to confer more meaning upon myself increases.
"I've never before felt the full intensity of collective skin hunger like this," says Grace Lavery when I text her and ask her about thirst traps during the pandemic. "It is an unusual experience."
I've never said this to her, but talking to Grace (all two or three times I have done) always makes me sweat; it's the proximity to her sheer power. She's one of the most intelligent writers and academics in my extended community and it's a privilege to live in a world in which I can DM her about the theoretical framework under which my friends and I do or do not get naked for photos. She falls into camp one, like me: never enough thirst traps.
"I find it hard to trust people who don't post selfies," Grace says. "I straight-up don't trust those who whine about the narcissism of the youth and the click-hungry jackals of social media. The will to objectify one's narcissism and displace it onto a network of others, to refuse to preserve the face from scorn or fetish, is a drive to begin the work of communalizing the body, to refuse the logics of organicity."
Naturally, I must Google organicity —I decide this statement means holding only loosely to existence as an individual organic being, choosing to pivot instead to interconnected cyborg, but I could be wrong and I am too nervous to ask her. Is this, perhaps, what we are doing? Or really, something we have already been doing—making ourselves into a super-organism? Is this one way trans people expand our Pando-esque-roots absent communing with each other physically?
At the Airbnb, I try not to kill any of the spiders that share my strange twenty-eight-day home. They are everywhere and sometimes I slip—I accidentally wash one down the drain while I'm showering. One bites me on the toe and I look up what to do if it's venomous. I give the couch to the spiders and I think that's fine as long as I can use the rest of the apartment. I cannot kill spiders just because I find them monstrous.
I take a lot of photos. I don't post them anywhere. I don't send them to anyone. These ones? They're only for me.
"I think the taking up thirst traps is the building of a performance archive."
Ari Monts is the kind of friend who gives out homework. Not by requiring one to do tasks, but by mentioning so many ideas in one conversation that it necessitates further investigation. We are talking on Zoom. (We are only ever talking on Zoom now.) They pull a book out from behind their couch. It is The Sentient Archive , which they tell me is edited by "Linda Caruso Haviland and some guy named Bill." Ari falls into camp two—for them, thirst traps are about the lead up to a physical encounter. It's too depressing to take them right now. But their scholarly work is all about performance, gender and ritual; they are a perfect thirst trap discussant.
The Sentient Archive , they say, "talks about an archive of something that's living and how we are archiving performances that live in our body. There's something about being both the person behind the lens and in front of the lens in a thirst trap. It puts the subject in charge of the way that they're being viewed."
Ari continues to talk and I stare at the screen and I think about Diane Arbus. I've been Googling and I find a strange disconnect with Sontag's imagining of Arbus and what I actually see: participation by the subject, a soft acceptance of naked bodies that fall outside classification—black and white photos of shirtless queens with proto-thirst-trap facial expressions, disabled people smiling directly at the viewer or else mean-mugging rugged, all closed-lips and smoldering eyes. Her photos betray a kindness. An understanding of power. A thirst, sometimes. And yet it is still someone looking into a life, being a tourist, a voyeur. There is something attractive about being the subject and the artist all at once; of being entirely in control of how I am seen, who sees me.
I gently bring my focus back; Ari is talking about what trans people are not afforded in public spaces—the chance to experiment with our performed identities. "In public," they say, "we're just seen as strange and monstrous because of being trans or because of being Black or brown or Indigenous."
I isolate with the spiders for three weeks instead of two, just to be safe. I do not go to the grocery store; I do not go for a walk. I go no further than the Airbnb gate. There are chickens here and I talk to them every day. I celebrate my birthday alone; my friends send me a bottle of Scotch and it arrives directly to my window. Two of them get a Covid test. It is negative. Together they drive ten hours to get me, ten hours back. I now live in their guest room; I don't know for how long. The house is full of trans people and I have not taken one single thirst trap since arriving, until today.
7 9 20. The date stands out this time, against a white wall, grey couch, yellow throw pillow. The subject's hair is wild, reaching for the heavens (I haven't seen a barber in months). The eyes are cast down, toward the camera (which I have propped once more against a glass of water) and the wall behind the subject is busy with framed art, mounted nature, an embroidery hoop surrounding the backwards letters "q-u-e-e-r" (everyone else is out camping. I do not go camping. I am watching the cat, watering the garden and taking thirst traps because I am once again the only trans person here and every day counts).
The subject kneels on the couch, knees wide, the arm placed between them. The posture is tall, rocked back on the heels, and their shoulders fill out a tee shirt. The arms are thicker; the fabric stretches over a pectoral muscle (hell yeah, I have a fucking pectoral muscle!). In the right hand, fingers lightly grasp a Kindle (I am still reading Sontag). The skin on the face is alive with zits, crawling like ants around the jawline. The ghost of the mustache is gone (I shaved it off and I shave it off every other day).
The subject's gender is indeterminate—because it is constructed to be so, for myself and mine; an unclassifiable monster.
A. E. Osworth is part-time Faculty at The New School, where they teach undergraduates the art of digital storytelling. Their novel, We Are Watching Eliza Bright, about a game developer dealing with harassment (and narrated collectively by a fictional subreddit), is forthcoming from Grand Central Publishing (April 2021) and is available for pre-order now. They have an eight-year freelancing career and you can find their work on Autostraddle, Guernica, Quartz, Electric Lit, Paper Darts, Mashable, and drDoctor, among others.
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