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Episode 25: Will The Fed Create A Disorderly Dollar?
Will The Fed Create A Disorderly Dollar?
Published on: April 21, 2020 • Duration: 17 minutes
This week we look at whether the huge monetary accommodation by the US Federal Reserve may end up driving the dollar higher and having a negative impact on global risk assets. It would appear that, by outgunning the other central banks, the Fed is making US assets more attractive to investors because they are backed by the central bank.
Two months into the crisis and the US, Federal Reserve has rewritten the rulebook of monetary accommodation in order to stabilize markets. But are these actions in danger, driving the dollar dangerously higher? That's The Big Conversation.
As we've talked about before, the Fed has done a significant amount in terms of accommodation to try and offset the deflationary bust that has been ravaging the world. And with good reason, because when we look at the data, global data, but we'll focus on some U.S. data, we can continue to see just how shocking this impact has been. Firstly, we've got to the GDP data from China. Now, I know a lot of people don't necessarily believe the Chinese data, but nonetheless, this is nearly always been of growth around about 6 percent. And even the Chinese have admitted that the growth there is around about minus 6.8 percent. So an absolutely stunning reversal. Not surprising in many ways, given the lockdown that we've known the Chinese have gone through, and also other parts of the world are going through. Closer to home we got three big pieces of U.S. data last week. The first one and perhaps in some ways the most shocking, but again, perhaps not the most surprising, if you can say that in the same sentence, was the Empire State Manufacturing Index. This is obviously focused on the New York area, and it was down around about minus 78 versus minus 35 expectation. Again, uncharted territory in terms of what we're seeing here. Retail sales was expected to be down 8 percent. It fell down 8.7 percent. So that was in line in many ways with some very clear dispersion between large goods and even apparel. So clothing fell around about 50 percent, whereas we saw an increase in demand for groceries as obviously people stockpiled. But nonetheless, month on month, this was a surprisingly a worse or very weak figure. Industrial production - now we've got industrial production data going back over 100 years. The fall in industrial production massively outstripped what we saw in 2008 on a month on month basis. And it's the worst we've seen since the 1940s, in fact, since the end of the Second World War. But maybe in some ways, one of the reasons why we've had a good response, a fast response from central banks like the Fed is that the speed of this turnaround. When we look at this month on month data, it's unprecedented. When we look at the data year on year, if you go to, for instance, those retail sales year on year, it was worse in 2008, 2009. And maybe this is if you can call it a saving grace or a blessing, but the speed of this turnaround, because it was so sudden, it's allowed central banks and government authorities to react very, very rapidly and with significant size. Remember in 2008, that had been a slow burning recession that had been effectively on the cards for a couple of years because the first mortgage pressures really started to build two years earlier. And it took that sort of death by a thousand cuts with a final implosion around the Lehman crisis of 2008. This was October, November that finally got the central banks and the governments acting accordingly. Today, the move has been much swifter. And maybe that's something which is going to allow a little bit more support into risk assets. But I think all the key elements here is just what the Fed is doing. And what the Fed is doing is significant on a global basis. And I think this is where the risk for the dollar perversely lies. In so many ways the big question is why is the U.S. dollar not significantly weaker? We've seen the Fed announce all these various facilities that they're supporting various parts of the market. We can see that the Fed's balance sheet has expanded by two trillion dollars over the last two or three weeks, in fact, over this period that we've been going through. Now, compare that to the ECB. The ECB has also been active. They've announced QE, but the size of their QE is around about 500 billion in terms of the size increase in size of their own balance sheet. And so they're very much lagging. The Fed is very much in the driving seat here, and that should be pushing currencies, at least the dollar, should be pushing the dollar lower. Yet when we look at the DXY, why the DXY has gyrated a little bit, particularly when we've had the announcement of things like the 2.3 trillion junk bond buying facility. Speculative positions built up, and people went short against the dollar. But the dollar really has rebounded or at least stayed relatively static. And you can see this on the euro as well. The euro has had a few gyrations, but ultimately it still seems to be grinding a path lower. And as we've mentioned before, if you really want to see where the dollar's playing its strongest hand, it's versus the EMFX indices. If you look at the JP Morgan EMFX index, it's still very much close to those all time lows. And you can see some spectacular moves in things like the Mexican Peso, the Brazilian Real and the South African Rand. These three currencies have had significant moves and look like their move has not yet finished. And why is this happening? Well, we've already discussed this dash for cash in that the real world economy is still slowing down, even if the financial assets, particularly in the US, look relatively robust, considering the backdrop that we've got with the real economy is under duress. And that's what we're seeing with these emerging market currencies. There is still a crunch going on, countries are still very much in lock down. This means that cash flows at the corporate and the household level have been severely impaired, and the Fed has put in some operations to deal with this as a repo facility, there are swap lines in place. Not all these are in fact being used in any way, shape or form to the level that people had hoped. But they are in place, and this has certainly alleviated some of the issues with the G7 currencies. But emerging market currencies, they still remain on the back foot, and I think they're a better reflection of what's going on in the real economy. And that kind of in some ways brings us onto the next section, which is, okay, well, if the real economy is still under pressure, but financial assets are suggesting that things are not so bad, well, how do we trade this? Where are the freely floating markets? Where are markets that are not being at least distorted by central bank action? And I think this is also key to understanding just why the central bank, or the Fed's actions may actually lead to a much stronger dollar. So if the US is being distorted by the effects of the Federal Reserve, where can we find assets that might reflect the ongoing malaise across the global economy? Where are the pressure valves? I think the obvious place for that is to look in the foreign exchange markets, where despite the swaps and the repo facilities put in place by the Fed, we'd still expect to, I still expect, a lot of these emerging market currencies to come under pressure. We mentioned them before, things like the Brazilian Real, the South African Rand. These have fallen significantly so this is dollar strength versus these currencies. These currencies have weakened significantly versus the dollar. It looks like they're currently going through consolidation phases rather than reversals. And I think we will see a new leg lower in these currencies versus the dollar. So dollar higher. And this is because the global economy remains in lockdown. This is the difference between the real economy, where we're seeing balance sheet impairment vs. the financial economy, particularly the US, which is being bid by the expectations of the Fed. We can also see this in commodities. Now, commodities have been under a lot of pressure. This morning we've seen another 20 percent decline in WTI, but that's to do with tomorrow's expiry. We're not seeing the same sort of move in the second month contract or in Brent, which is the global benchmark. So this pressure that we've been seeing is real in the commodity space, even if we ignore that front month move, and we've fallen to two multi-year lows in Brent. We've seen significant declines in things like copper. So we can see this still being expressed through the real economy such as commodities. Even though OPEC + has attempted to support that market. I think this reflects also that the emerging market bonds and I think this is the other big area along with FX, emerging market bonds, another space where we'll see assets reflect the ongoing weakness in the global economy. When the corporate bond market imploded in the US, we saw emerging market bonds sell off aggressively as well. And although emerging market bonds have recovered some of their poise, not nearly so much as US investment grade, which is up on the year and the US high yield. And I think that the emerging market bond space is one which is another way people will reflect the slowdown in global trade and the global economy, even if U.S. assets are being supported. But what about Europe? Should we be looking at European assets? And I think again, Europe shows just the difficulties in trading outside of the US market. And so what about places like Europe, for instance? Should people put money to work in Europe? After all, the ECB is doing some QE, although not maybe not at the same speed as the Fed, but they're still doing QE. Well, the problem with Europe, as we can see, is things like the banks, the European banks, they have broken through to new all time lows. They have been under a lot of pressure over the last two or three years. In fact, they've been under pressure since the euro crisis in 2011, 2012. The banks don't look like they're in recovery mode anytime soon. In fact, we should expect a swathe of nationalization across the banking sector unless, of course, they can come up with something like Corona Bonds, where the wealthier nations, particularly of the North, will support and bail out the countries of the periphery and the South. The problem with this is that once again, we're seeing a lot of rejection of this by certain parts of the of the eurozone, which is always been the eurozone's problem is that there's so many different vested interests that are very, very hard for them all to align. Christine Lagard has been put in place to try and bang their heads together, which we mentioned last week. But it's still proving very, very hard to get any unity. And we can see this in things like the Bund BTP spread. So this is the German Bund, 10 year yield and the BTP Italian yield. It widened out quite significantly as we started this crisis then as expectation for Corona Bonds came in, it closed up that spread, but it's been widening out again, reflecting this uncertainty, this lack of ability to agree anything within Europe. Now, it doesn't mean that the US is necessarily that much better when we look at the banks in the US, the BKX has been under a lot of pressure itself and in fact has declined quite dramatically and has been making new lows. And it's particularly significant when you look at the BKX versus the broad markets such as the S&P. The BKX is under significant pressure. Now, the key difference here, though, is that with the Federal Reserve is there really to look after the banks. And I don't think that the Federal Reserve will therefore want to go into negative interest rates. I think they'll lock the front end and allow the back end to move. Now, that still means you might get a flat yield curve in the US, and it might even go into negative territory. But the Federal Reserve will do what it can to look after the banks. In fact, many the facilities that have been put in place actually quite a decent margin with very, very little risk to the banks to start doing loans into the real economy, which so far have not quite hit the mark yet. But i think the real key here is that if you think of the world very, very simplified and I'm gonna simplify it beyond recognition. But let's pretend we had a two world, two assets in the world that you could choose from. One is U.S. bonds and one is emerging market bonds. Now, in this environment, would you put your money into the bonds of the US, which are backed infinitely by the World Central Bank, the Federal Reserve, who are basically out there buying all the assets that are required to stabilize markets? Or would you put your money into emerging market bonds, which are basically exposed to the vagaries of the Coronavirus and this massive slowdown in the economy, the global economy, particularly the exports of commodities and the finished goods of which they are kind of the leaders? And also, would you expect their central banks be able to deal with this through liquidity? Well, they can't because of inflation problems in the risk of destroying their currencies. But nonetheless, that's exactly what's happening. Is it given that choice? I think people are voting and they're basically funding the cash towards the US because of the Fed doing QE. And the more the Fed does QE, the more attractive the US becomes for foreign foreign investors because it looks like you want to buy the things the Fed is buying. And so this is many ways is the conundrum for the U.S. Fed, which is that it needs to print money in order to support risk assets and also it needs to try and keep a lid on the dollar, keep the dollar down. But because the US is backstopped by the Fed, it's actually encouraging people to invest in the U.S. markets. I mean, who wouldn't buy all the assets the Fed is buying? You've probably got only upside in those, even though the yields and the return, the dividends look poor. The actual outlook in terms of capital gains or at least capital protection looks very good. So the irony here is that the more the Fed prints, the more money wants to come to the US. The more the Fed prints, the more risk it has of creating a disorderly move in the dollar to the upside. Not because of the dollar strength itself, but because of the weakness in other emerging market currencies in particular, and maybe some of the commodity currencies as well. And if you look at this, you know, the S&P, we talked about this last week, it's at a key juncture. It's between the 50 and 62 percent retracement. This is in line with pretty much every rebound after every major sell off that we've seen in history across nearly every major market. This is a very common a garden rebound that we've seen. The Fed wants to keep this going. And the big question for a lot of people is, can the response from central banks, particularly the Fed, actually be greater than the impact of the virus itself on the economic impact? And as I mentioned earlier, the speed with which this has happened has allowed the Fed to respond very, very quickly. That might be a saving grace. But at the same time, this is focused specifically on the US with some swap lines and repo facilities for foreigners. But that doesn't mean that these foreign economies are going to necessarily benefit. In fact, as we see with the emerging markets, they can't print their currency, or if they do, they risk the currencies declining rapidly and the risk significant inflation. So they have to be very, very careful. So therefore, they are completely exposed to the ravages of the economic slowdown. And then people say, well, what if these countries default? If they default on their dollars, the short dollars, then that loss of demand for dollars. Shouldn't that mean that the dollar's weaker as well? In the short term no. The risk here is a bit like margin calls at a clearing house. When you have a normal market, you might have to put 3 percent margin against a future. Volatility picks up that goes to 7 percent. And then if you get a default in one of the counterparties, they might put it up again to 10 percent or something like that. Similarly with defaults, countries don't like to default on debt. Argentina knows how to do it. They enjoy doing it. But remember, Greece tried very, very hard not to in fact, kind of fudged around that one. Most countries don't want to default. Countries will do sporadically. But when one country defaults, that effectively makes all the other countries more worried about being able to pay down the debts. Demand for dollars goes up. If one country defaults on its dollar denominated debt. It's only if you get a unified cluster of defaults across a large number of emerging markets, or a large number of even corporates, global corporates. At that point, you might wipe out the demand for dollars. But until then, each dollar, each default creates increased demand for dollars. So this whole framework of the dollar that the Fed has put in place where the dollar could actually go higher the more the Fed makes the U.S. more attractive is actually destabilizing or potentially destabilizing. The key is a disorderly move in the dollar. If the dollar moves at a grinding rate over the next few months it doesn't matter. But if the DXY got to, let's say 110 or the euro got to parity in the next few weeks, that would create a problem for global risk assets. So this is a simple conundrum. Damned if they do, damned if they don't. If the Fed doesn't intervene, then they're taking the bid out of risk assets. They'll roll over. If they do intervene, they might put a bit into US risk assets, but that increases the demand for dollar denominated assets and also undermines in many ways some of the emerging markets and other global risk assets and therefore creates a distortion which ultimately might lead to the dollar's strength and weakness in the economy. So how to hedge it? Simply put, gold is one of them. If the Fed are locking interest rates, but they could potentially create an inflationary bottlenecks as that liquidity gets into the market and demand picks up. But supply is not coming through. But yields are kept with a lid on. Then you could see inflation going above yields. You get negative or falling real yields and falling real yields has been good for gold, so gold should continue to do okay. Although the speculative positions are very long in gold so be aware of that. And then the second thing is clearly in those currencies I would still look to play a strong dollar or dollar strength. But what I'm really playing here is some EMFX weakness. We've seen two or three already. Those are the sort of places you want to go where it looks like they're consolidating on a move weaker. So this is things that the Mexican Peso, South African Rand, Brazilian Real, many others that are already on what looks like a path towards weaker currencies. That's going to be their pressure valve. I think that's how we can play this, because there is a risk that the Fed overplays its hand and gets the exact opposite of what it really wants, which is actually a disorderly move in the dollar to the upside.
Episode 24: Will equity markets ever roll over again?
See whether the rally in the equity market is forming a fabled V shaped recovery, rare throughout history, but one that is now becoming a consensus view.
April 14, 2020 •Episode 24
Episode 23: The lasting effects of a lockdown
We look at whether markets are pricing in peak fear or peak economic distress. Peak fear may already be behind us, but has the economic pain only just started?
Episode 22: We're going to need a bigger bailout
This week we look at the combined attempts by governments and central banks to lift equity markets off their lows whilst keeping a lid on the US dollar.
March 30, 2020 •Episode 22


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Civic Leadership / Citadel and Citadel Securities and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to Increase the Supply of Medical Oxygen in India
Citadel and Citadel Securities and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to Increase the Supply of Medical Oxygen in India
Commitments totaling $5.5 million will fund respiratory care efforts and the installation of oxygen generation plants across India
CHICAGO, May 7, 2021 – The partners of Citadel and Citadel Securities today announced new commitments totaling $5.5 million to increase the supply of medical oxygen in India. As the nation experiences a devastating surge in COVID-19 cases, the demand for medical oxygen has risen to unprecedented levels.
The grants from Citadel and Citadel Securities, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Gates Philanthropy Partners have been directed to the global health nonprofit PATH. They will be used to support near-term, critical needs while also building infrastructure that will be beneficial far beyond the current pandemic.
"Our hearts go out to the people of India as they battle this devastating surge in COVID-19," said Ken Griffin, Founder and CEO of Citadel. "We are proud to continue accelerating impactful solutions to address urgent needs during the pandemic."
"Lack of access to medical oxygen is one of the defining health challenges of our age," said Chris Elias, President of Global Development at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "As we are now seeing in India, the consequences can be dire, which is why we must come together with others to help address this important issue both during the current crisis and beyond."
Citadel and the Gates Foundation have partnered with PATH, an organization that works with governments, businesses and other organizations to solve the world's most pressing health challenges. PATH is currently coordinating with multiple state governments in India to address the oxygen shortage, while also providing the technical expertise required to set up oxygen-generating plants at healthcare facilities.
"PATH is responding to the urgent COVID-19 crisis in India and globally, including monitoring medical oxygen demand, increasing access to vaccines and strengthening disease surveillance," said Nikolaj Gilbert, President and CEO of PATH. "Our impact hinges on the generosity of our partners. We are grateful for the support Citadel and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have shown so that we can continue our lifesaving work where it is needed most."
Break Through Tech Announces $26 Million Investment to Increase the Number of Women in Artificial Intelligence
Citadel and Citadel Securities Launch Summer Externship to Develop the Next Generation of Diverse Talent in Finance
500 Schools with Significant Black Student Populations Will Offer AP Computer Science Principles with New Funding from Ken Griffin, Citadel, and Citadel Securities
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


March seems to be jinxed for me - blogging wise. Last year I didnt get a single post out and I literally forced myself to write something this year to avoid the same situation. Lets hope April will be better :) At least I am not ranting about my PS3 anymore!
I finally got my 5800 updated to v20 firmware - and its BIG improvement. The UI looks glossier, the response is snappier, it doesnt crash as often on USB Storage Device mode in Windows XP, you can use the front camera for photos and geo-tagging of photos is also supported. The firmware was out on March 6 in India, but I only realized it was available on the 31st - I was trying to use FOTA and that is not supported in India so it kept telling me no new firmware available. I finally got it installed on April 4 after being forced to install Ovi Suite to backup my data. This time, I found that the suite is reasonably lightweight. It does install some services but as long as you dont install Nokia Music and Video apps, its not the nightmare I was visited with last time.
Finally, the image using 55-200mm VR off, maximum zoom.
As expected, VR is not much use during daytime, i.e with fast shutter speeds.
Lastly, I had been trying out Echopic for the last couple of posts since I felt too lazy to go through the hoops Imageshack forces on you... Well, my patience (or lack thereof) has been rewarded - Echopic seems dead and I will have to re-upload the images and update the blog posts anyway. Alas!


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Le Paços do Concelho de Lisboa est le bâtiment, situé sur la Praça do Município, à Santa Maria Maior à Lisbonne, qui abrite la mairie de Lisbonne. De style néoclassique, sa façade présente huit colonnes supportant un fronton, avec des sculptures de Calmels, et quatre oculi. À l'intérieur, on remarque l'escalier central, conçu par l'architecte José Luís Monteiro, et la décoration picturale d'artistes, tels que Pereira Cão, Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro, José Malhoa et José Rodrigues.

Histoire

Il a été construit à l'origine selon un projet d'Eugénio dos Santos, lors de la reconstruction pombaline de Baixa, après le tremblement de terre de 1755. Le 19 novembre 1863, un incendie se déclare qui détruit entièrement la batisse. Un nouveau bâtiment a été érigé au même endroit, par l'architecte Domingos Parente da Silva, entre 1865 et 1880.

Depuis les années 1930 et 1940, des ajouts architecturaux avaient été apportés, dont l'ajout d'un étage mansardé qui n'était pas prévu dans le projet initial. Un nouvel incendie, le 7 novembre 1996, affecte les étages supérieurs, affectant les plafonds et les peintures du premier étage. L'architecte Silva Dias a dirigé le plan d'intervention pour la restauration du bâtiment, optant pour ramener le bâtiment au plan initial de Domingos Parente da Silva.

Notes et références

Bâtiment à Lisbonne
Lisbonne
Architecture néoclassique au Portugal

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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  var argument1 = Blockly.JavaScript.valueToCode_(this, 1) || '0';
  var code;

  if (this.getValueLabel(1) == this.MSG_POW) {
    code = 'Math.pow(' + argument0 + ', ' + argument1 + ')';
  } else {
    var map = {};
    map[this.MSG_ADD] = '+';
    map[this.MSG_MINUS] = '-';
    map[this.MSG_MULTIPLY] = '*';
    map[this.MSG_DIVIDE] = '/';
    var operator = map[this.getValueLabel(1)];
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};

Blockly.JavaScript.math_change = function() {
  // Add to a variable in place.
  var argument0 = Blockly.JavaScript.valueToCode_(this, 0) || '0';
  var varName = Blockly.JavaScript.variableDB_.getName(this.getTitleText(1),
      Blockly.Variables.NAME_TYPE);
  return varName + ' = (typeof ' + varName + ' == \'number\' ? ' + varName +
      ' : 0) + ' + argument0 + ';\n';
};

Blockly.JavaScript.math_single = function(opt_dropParens) {
  // Math operators with single operand.
  var argNaked = Blockly.JavaScript.valueToCode_(this, 0, true) || '0';
  var argParen = Blockly.JavaScript.valueToCode_(this, 0, false) || '0';
  var operator = this.getValueLabel(0);
  var code;
  // First, handle cases which generate values that don't need parentheses wrapping the code.
  switch (operator) {
    case this.MSG_ABS:
      code = 'Math.abs(' + argNaked + ')';
      break;
    case this.MSG_ROOT:
      code = 'Math.sqrt(' + argNaked + ')';
      break;
    case this.MSG_LN:
      code = 'Math.log(' + argNaked + ')';
      break;
    case this.MSG_EXP:
      code = 'Math.exp(' + argNaked + ')';
      break;
    case this.MSG_10POW:
      code = 'Math.pow(10,' + argNaked + ')';
      break;
    case this.MSG_ROUND:
      code = 'Math.round(' + argNaked + ')';
      break;
    case this.MSG_ROUNDUP:
      code = 'Math.ceil(' + argNaked + ')';
      break;
    case this.MSG_ROUNDDOWN:
      code = 'Math.floor(' + argNaked + ')';
      break;
    case this.MSG_SIN:
      code = 'Math.sin(' + argParen + ' / 180 * Math.PI)';
      break;
    case this.MSG_COS:
      code = 'Math.cos(' + argParen + ' / 180 * Math.PI)';
      break;
    case this.MSG_TAN:
      code = 'Math.tan(' + argParen + ' / 180 * Math.PI)';
      break;
  }
  if (code) {
    return code;
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  // Second, handle cases which generate values that may need parentheses wrapping the code.
  switch (operator) {
    case this.MSG_NEG:
      code = '-' + argParen;
      break;
    case this.MSG_LOG10:
      code = 'Math.log(' + argNaked + ') / Math.log(10)';
      break;
    case this.MSG_ASIN:
      code = 'Math.asin(' + argNaked + ') / Math.PI * 180';
      break;
    case this.MSG_ACOS:
      code = 'Math.acos(' + argNaked + ') / Math.PI * 180';
      break;
    case this.MSG_ATAN:
      code = 'Math.atan(' + argNaked + ') / Math.PI * 180';
      break;
    default:
      throw 'Unknown math operator.';
  }
  if (!opt_dropParens) {
    code = '(' + code + ')';
  }
  return code;
};

// Rounding functions have a single operand.
Blockly.JavaScript.math_round = Blockly.JavaScript.math_single;
// Trigonometry functions have a single operand.
Blockly.JavaScript.math_trig = Blockly.JavaScript.math_single;

Blockly.JavaScript.math_on_list = function() {
  // Rounding functions.
  func = this.getTitleText(0);
  list = Blockly.JavaScript.valueToCode_(this, 0, true) || '[]';
  var code;
  switch (func) {
    case this.MSG_SUM:
      code = list + '.reduce(function(x, y) {return x + y;})';
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    case this.MSG_MIN:
      code = 'Math.min.apply(null,' + list + ')';
      break;
    case this.MSG_MAX:
      code = 'Math.max.apply(null,' + list + ')';
      break;
    case this.MSG_AVERAGE:
      code = '(' + list + '.reduce(function(x, y) {return x + y;})/' + list +
      '.length)';
      break;
    case this.MSG_MEDIAN:
      if (!Blockly.JavaScript.definitions_['math_median']) {
        var functionName = Blockly.JavaScript.variableDB_.getDistinctName(
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        // May need to handle null.
        // Currently math_median([null,null,1,3]) == 0.5.
        var func = [];
        func.push('function ' + functionName + '(list) {');
        func.push('  if (!list.length) return 0;');
        func.push('  var localList = [].concat(list);');
        func.push('  localList.sort(function(a, b) {return b - a;});');
        func.push('  if (localList.length % 2 == 0) {');
        func.push('    return (localList[localList.length / 2 - 1] + localList[localList.length / 2]) / 2;');
        func.push('  } else {');
        func.push('    return localList[(localList.length - 1) / 2];');
        func.push('  }');
        func.push('}');
        Blockly.JavaScript.definitions_['math_median'] = func.join('\n');
      }
      code = Blockly.JavaScript.math_on_list.math_median + '(' + list + ')';
      break;
    case this.MSG_MODE:
      if (!Blockly.JavaScript.definitions_['math_modes']) {
        var functionName = Blockly.JavaScript.variableDB_.getDistinctName(
            'math_modes', Blockly.Generator.NAME_TYPE);
        Blockly.JavaScript.math_on_list.math_modes = functionName;
        // As a list of numbers can contain more than one mode,
        // the returned result is provided as an array.
        // Mode of [3, 'x', 'x', 1, 1, 2, '3'] -> ['x', 1].
        var func = [];
        func.push('function ' + functionName + '(values) {');
        func.push('  var modes = [];');
        func.push('  var counts = [];');
        func.push('  var maxCount = 0;');
        func.push('  for (var i = 0; i < values.length; i++) {');
        func.push('    var value = values[i];');
        func.push('    var found = false;');
        func.push('    var thisCount;');
        func.push('    for (var j = 0; j < counts.length; j++) {');
        func.push('      if (counts[j][0] === value) {');
        func.push('        thisCount = ++counts[j][1];');
        func.push('        found = true;');
        func.push('        break;');
        func.push('      }');
        func.push('    }');
        func.push('    if (!found) {');
        func.push('      counts.push([value, 1]);');
        func.push('      thisCount = 1;');
        func.push('    }');
        func.push('    maxCount = Math.max(thisCount, maxCount);');
        func.push('  }');
        func.push('  for (var j = 0; j < counts.length; j++) {');
        func.push('    if (counts[j][1] == maxCount) {');
        func.push('        modes.push(counts[j][0]);');
        func.push('    }');
        func.push('  }');
        func.push('  return modes;');
        func.push('}');
        Blockly.JavaScript.definitions_['math_modes'] = func.join('\n');
      }
      code = Blockly.JavaScript.math_on_list.math_modes + '(' + list + ')';
      break;
    case this.MSG_STD_DEV:
      if (!Blockly.JavaScript.definitions_['math_standard_deviation']) {
        var functionName = Blockly.JavaScript.variableDB_.getDistinctName(
            'math_standard_deviation', Blockly.Generator.NAME_TYPE);
        Blockly.JavaScript.math_on_list.math_standard_deviation = functionName;
        var func = [];
        func.push('function ' + functionName + '(numbers) {');
        func.push('  var n = numbers.length;');
        func.push('  if (!n) return NaN;');
        func.push('  var mean = numbers.reduce(function(x, y) {return x + y;}) / n;');
        func.push('  var variance = 0;');
        func.push('  for (var j = 0; j < n; j++) {');
        func.push('    variance += Math.pow(numbers[j] - mean, 2);');
        func.push('  }');
        func.push('  variance = variance / n;');
        func.push('  standard_dev = Math.sqrt(variance);');
        func.push('  return standard_dev;');
        func.push('}');
        Blockly.JavaScript.definitions_['math_standard_deviation'] = func.join('\n');
      }
      code = Blockly.JavaScript.math_on_list.math_standard_deviation + '(' + list + ')';
      break;
    case this.MSG_RANDOM_ITEM:
      code = list + '[Math.floor(Math.random() * ' + list + '.length)]';
      break;
    default:
      throw 'Unknown operator.';
  }
  return code;
};

Blockly.JavaScript.math_modulo = function(opt_dropParens) {
  // Remainder computation.
  var argument0 = Blockly.JavaScript.valueToCode_(this, 0) || '0';
  var argument1 = Blockly.JavaScript.valueToCode_(this, 1) || '0';
  var code = argument0 + ' % ' + argument1;
  if (!opt_dropParens) {
    code = '(' + code + ')';
  }
  return code;
};

Blockly.JavaScript.math_random_float = function() {
  return 'Math.random()';
};

Blockly.JavaScript.math_random_int = function() {
  var argument0 = Blockly.JavaScript.valueToCode_(this, 0) || '0';
  var argument1 = Blockly.JavaScript.valueToCode_(this, 1) || '0';
  var rand1 = 'Math.floor(Math.random() * (' + argument1 + ' - ' + argument0 + ' + 1' + ') + ' + argument0 + ')';
  var rand2 = 'Math.floor(Math.random() * (' + argument0 + ' - ' + argument1 + ' + 1' + ') + ' + argument1 + ')';
  var code;
  if (argument0.match(/^[\d\.]+$/) && argument1.match(/^[\d\.]+$/)) {
    if (parseFloat(argument0) < parseFloat(argument1)) {
      code = rand1;
    } else {
      code = rand2;
    }
  } else {
    code = argument0 + ' < ' + argument1 + ' ? ' + rand1 + ' : ' + rand2;
  }
  return code;
};


text:
Zofia Rogoszówna (ur. w 1881 lub 1882 w Nowym Siole pod Stryjem, zm. 10 maja 1921 w Szczawnicy) – polska pisarka dla dzieci, tłumaczka i poetka. Zapoczątkowała adaptowanie utworów ludowych w literaturze dla dzieci.

Biografia i twórczość

Zofia Rogoszówna urodziła się w Nowym Siole pod Stryjem w 1881 lub 1882, starsze źródła podają rok 1890.

Ojciec pisarki Józef Rogosz znany był jako publicysta i pisarz. Zofia, podtrzymując rodzinne tradycje, zajęła się pisarstwem. Wydała kilkanaście książek dla młodszych dzieci, wykazując głębokie zrozumienie dziecka, oryginalność pomysłów, duże poczucie humoru i wysoki poziom literacki. Swoją działalność traktowała jako pracę oświatową na rzecz nie tylko dzieci, ale i ich opiekunów.

W 1909 (lub 1911) ogłosiła Pisklęta, zbiór prekursorskich opowiadań czerpiących znacznie z prozy psychologicznej przełomu XIX i XX] w., traktujący o małych dzieciach, przeznaczony bardziej dla dorosłych niż dla ich pociech. Pod wspólnym tytułem znalazły się tu utworki takie jak: Jędruś – historia wiejskiego chłopca, pełna prostego humoru sytuacyjnego, Jureczek – opowiadający o tym, w jaki sposób budzi się świadomość dziecka wychodzącego z okresu niemowlęctwa, czy też Haluśka – szkic o wrażliwej i obdarzonej bogatą wyobraźnią dziewczynce, wychowywanej w środowisku artystów. Młoda pisarka dała w nich wyraz przenikliwej znajomości psychiki małych bohaterów.

W 1911 wydała powieść dla starszych dzieci pt. Dziecinny dwór. Utwór czyta się z przyjemnością, szczególnie ze względu na dobrze zarysowane sylwetki dziecięcych bohaterów. W opiniach niektórych krytyków utwór wzbudzał jednak swego czasu zastrzeżenia co do wartości pedagogicznych.

Jako pierwsza wprowadziła do literatury drobne utwory ludowe, przeznaczone dla dzieci i wydała je w trzech zbiorach: Sroczka kaszkę warzyła (1920), Klituś bajduś (1920 lub 1925) i Koszałki Opałki (1920 lub 1928). Zawierały one gadki, piosenki i zabawy dziecięce, spisane z ust ludu lub zaczerpnięte z wspomnień dzieciństwa. Rogoszówna rysuje się w nich jako wprawna zbieraczka wiejskiego folkloru. Dzięki niej znamy ludową wersję rymowanki Tańcowały dwa Michały, którą zaadaptował później Jan Brzechwa:

 Tańcowała ryba z rakiem,
 a pietruszka z pasternakiem;
 cebula się dziwowała,
 że pietruszka tańcowała.

Kolejna rymowanka jest dawną wersją zabawy:
 Sroczka kaszkę warzyła
 dzieci swoje karmiła:
 Pierwszemu dała na miseczce,
 drugiemu dała na łyżeczce,
 trzeciemu dała w garnuszeczku,
 czwartemu dała w dzbanuszeczku
 a piątemu łeb urwała
 i frrrrrr... do lasu poleciała.

czy też:
 Gdzie jest wilk? – Za górą.
 Co robi? – Gęsi drze.

Wśród tekstów zabaw zgromadzonych przez Rogoszównę jest wiele obscenów – roją się one od drastycznych wydarzeń i wątków miłosnych. Nie przeszkadza to jednak dzieciom w adaptowaniu ich do swoich potrzeb ludycznych.

W zbiorku Sroczka kaszkę ważyła znajduje się oryginalny wierszyk, zaczerpnięty wprost z folkloru wiejskiego, którego następne wersje – rymowanki są już tylko literacką adaptacją tego fragmentu:
 Kaczka bieży po dolinie,
 za nią kaczor w kożuszynie.
 Czekaj kaczko,
 dam ci cacko.
 Nie postoję, bo się boję,
 bym nie wlazła w torbę twoję.

Te trzy zbiorki Rogoszówny ujawniają zainteresowanie autorki światem dziecka i dziecięcym folklorem. Okazuje się, że to, co przetrwało w tradycji ludowej, bawiło od zarania dziejów i bawi do dziś. Ze względu na wierszowaną formę, melodyjność i rytmikę zagnieździło się w pamięci kolejnych pokoleń. Właściwości mnemotechniczne tych tekstów współgrają z potrzebą umysłowego treningu i rozwoju dzieci. Autorka we wstępie do zbiorku Sroczka kaszkę ważyła sama uzasadniła cele zbieractwa:

Z przytoczonego cytatu wynika, że dla autorki nie było to zwyczajne zamiłowanie do zbieractwa, ale również chęć do wychowywania patriotycznego, do szerzenia wiedzy o bogactwie polskiego dorobku kulturowego – szczególnie tego, który przechował się pod strzechą. Był to także sposób na budzenie w dzieciach i rodzicach świadomości, że mimo długiej niebytności kraju polskiego na mapach, przetrwała nasza tożsamość narodowa – język, a z nim dowcip i zamiłowanie do dobrej zabawy.

Po wydaniu prekursorskich utworów Rogoszówny przez polską literaturę dziecięcą przetoczyła się fala adaptacji i publikacji utworów ludowych. Stało się to w owych czasach pewną modą, która powróciła w latach 50. XX w., wtedy też pojawiało się najwięcej wznowień prac autorów literatury dziecięcej czasów dwudziestolecia międzywojennego.

Dużą popularnością cieszyły się wielokrotnie wznawiane Dzieci pana majstra (1921) – wierszowane opowiadanie fantastyczne, odznaczające się żywą, barwną akcją. Treścią jego są przygody niesfornych dzieci majstra Tygodnia, za kradzież owoców w ogrodzie wróżki zamienionych w świnki i odczarowanych dzięki dzielności najmłodszej siostry Sobótki. Myśl pedagogiczna książki skupia się na zagadnieniu poszanowania cudzej własności. Język utworu jest chwilami niewolny od pewnych łatwizn i dłużyzn, lecz częściej okazuje się żywy i obrazowy. Książka, pełna humoru słownego, została opatrzona w barwne i wyraziste ilustracje Zbigniewa Rychlickiego.

Z utworów własnych Rogoszówny można wymienić jeszcze: Konfitury panny Michaliny ([911) i Wesołego ludka – zbiór krótkich realistycznych opowiadań prozą dla najmłodszych czytelników oraz wydane pośmiertnie: Pomyłkę jarzębią (1936) i Wesele Kuby (1936), a także napisane wespół z Józefiną Rogosz-Walewską opowiadanie Przez kolorowe okienko (1936).

Oprócz twórczości własnej i zbieractwa Rogoszówna uprawiała również przekład połączony z adaptacją. Na angielskim tekście oparła Przygody małego Murzynka i czterech łakomych tygrysów (1911). Przyswoiła w doskonałym tłumaczeniu kilka arcydzieł światowej literatury dla dzieci, m.in. O Gdakaczu, Gdakuli i Gdakuleńce Clemensa Brentano, Zazulkę Anatole'a France'a (wspólnie z Józefiną Rogosz-Walewską), Pierścień i Różę Williama Makepeace'a Thackeraya oraz Przygody Piotrusia Pana Jamesa Matthew Barriego.

Zofia Rogoszówna zmarła przedwcześnie 10 maja 1921 roku, w Szczawnicy. Pochowana została na Cmentarzu Rakowickim w Krakowie.

Lista dokonań literackich

 1910 – Pisklęta (zbiór nowel)
 1911 – Dziecinny dwór (powieść)
 1911 – Przygody małego Murzynka i czterech łakomych tygrysów
 1920 – Sroczka kaszę warzyła
 1921 – Dzieci Pana Majstra (wierszowana bajka dla dzieci)
 1920 lub 1925 – Klituś Bajduś
 1920 lub 1928 – Koszałki Opałki. Gadki, piosenki i zabawy dziecięce
 1911 – Konfitury panny Michaliny
 1924 – Piosenki dziecięce (zbiór)
 1926 – Wesoły ludek. 12 opowiadań dla małych dzieci
 1936 – Pomyłka jastrzębia
 1930 lub 1936 – Wesele Kuby
 1936 – Przez kolorowe okienko (z Józefiną Rogosz-Walewską)
 1938 – Uczta zwierząt

Tłumaczenia:
 Clemens Brentano O Gdakaczu, Gdakuli i Gdakuleńce (1911)
 Anatole France Zazulka (Abeille, wspólnie z Józefiną Rogosz-Walewską)
 William Makepeace Thackeray Pierścień i róża (The Rose and the Ring)
 James Matthew Barrie Przygody Piotrusia Pana (Peter Pan)

Przypisy

Bibliografia
 Halina Skrobiszewska Książki naszych dzieci, czyli o literaturze dla dzieci i młodzieży, Wiedza Powszechna, Warszawa 1971
 Stefania Wortman Baśń w literaturze i życiu dziecka. Co i jak opowiadać?, Stowarzyszenie Bibliotekarzy Polskich, Warszawa 1958
 W. M. Thackeray Pierścień i Róża, czyli historia Lulejki i Bulby z rysunkami autora. Pantomima przy kominku dla dużych i małych dzieci, Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, Warszawa 1984,
 Literatura polska. Przewodnik encyklopedyczny, red. Julian Krzyżanowski, t. 2, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, Warszawa 1984,

Linki zewnętrzne
 Tłumaczenia Zofii Rogoszówny w serwisie Wolne Lektury
 Utwory Zofii Rogoszówny w bibliotece Polona

Polscy poeci
Polscy prozaicy
Polscy pisarze dwudziestolecia międzywojennego
Polscy twórcy literatury dziecięcej i młodzieżowej
Polscy tłumacze literatury angielskojęzycznej
Pochowani na Cmentarzu Rakowickim w Krakowie
Urodzeni w 1881
Zmarli w 1921
Polscy tłumacze literatury francuskojęzycznej
Polscy tłumacze literatury niemieckojęzycznej


"Inviting Wyoming Countians to shake hands with a great American," Marshall G. West, State Co-Chairman for the "Humphrey for President" campaign in West Virginia, advised the herald this week that the popular Minnesota Senator will be traveling through this area with his campaign entourage on Monday, April 11.
West indicated that a campaign bus will leave the Daniel Boone Hotel at Charleston at 5 a.m. on the morning of the 11th and is scheduled to arrive at Logan at 7:30 a.m. where they will breakfast with leaders of that county.
The group ins scheduled to stop briefly in man for a period of fifteen minutes at about 10 a.m. pause in Oceana for a similar period at 11 and will be greeted in Pineville on the Court House Square at High Noon.
Arrangements have been completed with town officials to make available parking space in front of the Wyoming County Court House at that time and Senator Humphrey and his caravan will greet local Democratic followers.
Proceeding to Welch, the entourage is scheduled to have lunch with McDowell leaders about 1:30 and proceed through the Route 52 area to Bluefield for an evening meeting with Mercer Countians.
West, in his itinerary notice, stated that the local tour is only a small part of Mr. Humphrey's endeavor to contact as many West Virginians, personally, as is humanly possible, without detracting from his obligations in the nation's capitol.


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All agreed, however, that more oversight is needed for the state-created entity.
The city, rather than the Sewerage and Water Board, was responsible for the August flooding, said Drew Ward, linguist. Catch basin maintenance is under the Department of Public Works, Ward said, so the City Council "chose not to do their jobs," resulting in criminal malfeasance. Ward finished off his one-minute response by showing off a 1971 Mardi Gras doubloon he found while cleaning out the drain in front of his house.
"That means that not only did Mitch not clean the catch basins, neither did his dad," Ward said.
Aylin Maklansky, former legislative director for District C Councilwoman Nadine Ramsey, rebuked Ward's claim that city officials were directly responsible for the flooding, rather than the Sewerage and Water Board. The city undertook cleaning drains in the 1990s when the drainage millage was not renewed, though S&WB still has the authority to manage the catch basins since it was created by the state, Maklansky said. Three city councilmembers used to sit on the S&WB's commission before a public vote reorganized the board.
"Let's be truthful here about whats going on with the Sewerage and Water Board," Maklansky said.
Dan Ring, Bayou St. John resident born and raised in Boston, suggested using Public Works employees for certain Sewerage and Water Board tasks. The City Council didn't "do their due diligence" overseeing the commission, Ring said, so more oversight should be put into place.
"If we really utilize all of our assets we can really get this done in an efficient way," he said.
Joe Giarusso, attorney, argued for a stronger public works committee – which includes City Council members and department staff – to provide actual oversight. When Entergy encounters an issue, they walk through what's needed with the utilities committee; Giarusso said the same accountability should exist for S&WB.
"We need a 'trust but verify' system to make sure the work that is supposed to be done is actually getting done," he said.
Water management experts are needed to lead the commission and a solid plan should be established before another emergency, said Tillman Hardy, CEO of CORE USA community development firm. Hardy likened Augusts' floods to a lack of planning before Katrina; five years before the storm, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers requested $13 billion for levee work. That request was denied.
"We need subject matter experts … to help lead us to a plan that we follow, verbatim, without having to depend on the leadership that doesn't have the knowledge," Hardy said.
The crowd listens as candidates state their stance on the future of New Orleans' greenspace (Sabree Hill/Uptown Messenger).
Toyia Washington-Kendrick, vice principal at Esperanza Charter School, said the August flooding was the "straw that broke the camel's back." She also argued for more S&WB oversight, especially given the power the City Council is granted by its charter.
"Nobody wants to come outside their house after 30 minutes of rain and be flooded," Washington-Kendrick said.


FE:H – Week 5 To Do | TCG, shiyo?
As always, this list has only advanced a little bit, because I'm waiting on skills. With a few new units, I need to decide if I want to do anything with them long run. Units like Camilla also means that others like Caeda move down my priorities.
Build New Year Takumi properly?


text:
City Wide Franchise is Expanding Into Canada
City Wide Franchise recently signed an agreement to open its first location in Canada, which will serve the Southwestern Ontario community in Canada's most populous province.
This new Ontario location marks the start of an initiative set at the beginning of the year to expand the brand's presence in the Canadian market. Development in the United States and Canada is continuing for the company, as another location is expected to open in Fort Myers this year with two more signed agreements in the pipeline.
"We're thrilled to introduce City Wide to Canada. When we announced at the start of the year we were targeting Canada for our next growth phase, we were eager to find the perfect partner early on," said Jeff Oddo, president and CEO of City Wide Franchise. "It is a testament to the brand our team has worked hard to build, to establish ourselves as leaders and innovators in the United States and Canadian commercial building maintenance industry. We look forward to continuing this legacy within the Ontario community."
Generating more than $250 million in systemwide revenue in 2018, City Wide is on pace to have another record year. Are you an entrepreneurially-spirited individual looking for the right franchise opportunity? Click here to learn more about how you can be part of the growing City Wide family.


I'm a biker. I'm a bike enthusiast. Boston is a great city for biking and I do so year-round. I'm proud to say that this November I'll be 3 years without a car (and mind you, about 9 months of that was in car-dependent Atlanta)! But this blog is not the place for me to go on about how biking is the cheapest and fastest way to get around the city. How it's great for the environment and great for your body. How it keeps you in touch with the weather system and keeps you from parking fees, tow fees and time wasted looking for a parking spot. It isn't how all of the coolest people you'll meet ride bikes. So I'll just talk about my gear and how to put a box on the back.
After the jump: details on gear, instructions for the box, gallery of love for my bike and a look-what-you-can-do-with-your-broken-box. Lots of photos.
I can't take credit for picking out my frame, but the person who did knew my tastes well. It's old Fuji frame and has its original silver paint. The overall look I'm going for is that of a bookish-English bike, if there could be such a bike. I keep the details in silver or honey leather.
Obviously if I'm going somewhere to get many things or carry many things to a place I grab a messenger. I have too many. I also always ride with my computer in my bag because I want it as close to my body as possible, and really, it's the safest place.
I made these in tweed for a Tweed Ride here a while back and I haven't taken them off. Tube pads keep your paint from getting nicked when you're locking up to metal sign posts and what not. They also look pretty sweet. Also, as you can see, I gave away one so I've only got two tubes covered. I may have to make another set because I'd like to have them all matching, it's my bike's tweed jacket.
I made this for the Tweed Ride as well but need one anyways. I keep my lights in here (only a few percentage points safer than leaving your lights out) and a plastic grocery bag for when it rains I can cover my Brooks saddle. I've got it on my to-do list to make another one, yellow velvet, and post about it.... so I hope that happens.
I've got a medium sized one, and I wish I had the shorter one, but since I'm $40 invested in what I have, I won't be buying a new one until I have to. I keep it on my handle bars, which is not a good place because it can jam up your turning - but it doesn't happen very frequently. I'm not a dude with huge pockets to put it in, I don't want it flopping in the box, I don't want it hanging on the tubes, I don't like making anything I'm carrying on my back heavier than it needs to be so on the handle bars it goes.
I'm telling you, with this box and a cargo net you can carry anything. Anything. There are some photos below showing some of the different things I've carried on it, sadly there are no photos showing some of the craziest things I've carried on it.
I was first inspired by this bike, by Fast Boy Cycles. It's gorgeous and simple.
My bike use to be as simple but is going through a transition to a geared bike and is no longer simple. I did not want the box to be on the front because I knew I'd load it up with stuff and having the heavy part of the bike be the same as the part of the bike that pivots is not at all fun, to me. I also knew that I had boxes very similar to that in my possession already. A wonderful store here, Windsor Button, has a wall of wooden boxes filled with buttons, and for whatever reason they were selling some of the old boxes. I had a few because I use them in the kitchen.
I bought a simple silver (aluminum) back rack and attached it as normal. I then placed the box on the rack and marked pairs of dots in six places. Each pair of dots surrounded one of the rungs of the back rack.
You'll be attaching the box to the rack with zip ties and you'll want to attach to the rack in locations that secure it from moving in both directions. Each back rack will be different so yours may not look exactly like mine. I also added two layers of foam sheets (easy to get from a craft store) between the metal rack and the box to keep it quieter and act as a sort of shock absorber.
Secure with zip ties like in the photo below and trim off the tail.
I originally added the handle purely for looks; I had a bit of extra belt from this project. After I made it, I realized it was the perfect place to clip on my back light.
You'll need a bit of leather, a leather punch, two screws, two washers and two wing nuts. Determine how long you'll need it to be and how much you want it to pucker out. Drill holes in your box and punch them in the leather accordingly.
Here are some shots of my bike (at different stages of box, saddle, fender) in different situations. Just a little love gallery.
I've taken this bike on short trips all over the city as well as from Boston to Provincetown on the Cape and from Boston to Maine. I take it on the train with me to get to beaches and sometimes just to have it with me when I'm in another city visiting.
And finally, I recently broke my box (I dropped my bike) so I put a new one on. Then I found this use for the one with the missing side: it now hides my laptop and lifts my monitor. I love it when things work out like that.
Oh my goodness this is so great! I wish I could ride my bike to work! Maybe I could find a job closer to home next year when school starts again (I'm a teacher). I LOVE your tube pads! I want to crochet some for my bike!
Absolutely lovely! LOVE the leather handles. And the tweed tube pads on your sweet ride.
I have an antique egg crate I'm using on my back rack, and I made DIY clamps with hardwood trim and thumbscrews to attach it to the rack, instead of using zip-ties. It's amazing how much stuff you can carry with a good box!
Great post! I love that box on your rear rack! Very creative. Are you going to put on a front basket too?


text:
7:32pm by on ( )
7:34pm You Turn Me on I'm a Radio by Joni Mitchell on Hits (Reprise)
7:37pm (Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher And Higher by Rita Coolidge on Classic Rita Coolidge - The Universal Masters Collection (Universal Music)
7:41pm The Way You Do The Things You Do by Rita Coolidge on Delta Lady / The Anthology (A&M)
7:50pm Wish I Could by Norah Jones on Not Too Late (Blue Note Records)
7:54pm Sinkin' Soon by Norah Jones on Not Too Late (Blue Note Records)
7:59pm The Sun Doesn't Like You by Norah Jones on Not Too Late (Blue Note Records)
8:03pm Jazzman by Carole King on Wrap Around Joy (Epic)
8:07pm So Far Away by Carole King on Tapestry (Legacy Edition) (Epic/Legacy)
8:11pm Sweet Seasons by Carole King on Collections (Sony BMG Music Entertainment)
8:14pm Brother, Brother by Carole King on Music / Fantasy (Epic)
8:17pm Only Love Is Real by Carole King on Collections (Sony BMG Music Entertainment)
8:22pm Love Will Show Us How by Christine McVie on Love Will Show Us How (WMG - Warner Catalog and O/H)
8:26pm The Challenge by Christine McVie on Christine McVie (Warner Bros.)
8:31pm So Excited by Christine McVie on Christine McVie (Warner Bros.)
8:36pm Danny's All-Star Joint by Rickie Lee Jones on Rickie Lee Jones (Warner Bros.)
8:40pm Coolsville by Rickie Lee Jones on Rickie Lee Jones (Warner Bros.)
8:44pm Weasel And The White Boys Cool by Rickie Lee Jones on Rickie Lee Jones (Warner Bros.)
8:51pm Eat For Two [MTV Unplugged Version] by 10,000 Maniacs on MTV Unplugged (Rhino/Elektra)
8:56pm Candy Everybody Wants [MTV Unplugged Version] by 10,000 Maniacs on MTV Unplugged (Rhino/Elektra)
8:59pm I'm Not The Man [MTV Unplugged Version] by 10,000 Maniacs on MTV Unplugged (Rhino/Elektra)
9:05pm Anticipation by Carly Simon on Anticipation (Rhino/Elektra)
9:08pm Legend In Your Own Time by Carly Simon on Anticipation (Rhino/Elektra)
9:12pm Our First Day Together by Carly Simon on Our First Day Together (WMG - Elektra 0591)
9:15pm The Girl You Think You See by Carly Simon on The Studio Album Collection 1971-1983 (Rhino)
9:18pm Summer's Coming Around Again by Carly Simon on Summer's Coming Around Again (WMG - Elektra 0591)
9:24pm You Win Again by Martina McBride on Timeless (RCA Records Label Nashville)
9:27pm I'll Be There by Martina McBride on Timeless (SME - RCA Records Label Nashville)
9:29pm I Can't Stop Loving You by Martina McBride on Timeless (RCA Records Label Nashville)
9:34pm (I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden by Martina McBride on Timeless (RCA Records Label Nashville)
9:39pm Lasting Kind of Love by Ana Popovic on Like It on Top (ArtisteXclusive records)
9:44pm Like It on Top by Ana Popovic on Like It on Top (ArtisteXclusive records)
9:49pm Sexy Tonight by Ana Popovic on Like It on Top (ArtisteXclusive records)
9:52pm Slow Dance by Ana Popovic on Like It on Top (ArtisteXclusive records)
9:59pm Funkin' attitude by Ana Popovic on Like It on Top (ArtisteXclusive records)


text:
package edu.jhu.prim.vector;

import edu.jhu.prim.Primitives.MutableInt;
import edu.jhu.prim.Primitives.MutableInt;
import edu.jhu.prim.set.IntHashSet;
import edu.jhu.prim.util.Lambda.FnIntIntToVoid;

public abstract class AbstractIntIntVector {

    public abstract void iterate(FnIntIntToVoid function);

    public int getSum() {
        final MutableInt sum = new MutableInt(0);
        this.iterate(new FnIntIntToVoid() {
            public void call(int idx, int val) {
                sum.v += val;
            }
        });
        return sum.v;
    }

    public int getMax() {
        final MutableInt max = new MutableInt(Integer.MIN_VALUE);
        this.iterate(new FnIntIntToVoid() {
            public void call(int idx, int val) {
                if (val > max.v) {
                    max.v = val;
                }
            }
        });
        return max.v;
    }

    public int getArgmax() {
        final MutableInt argmax = new MutableInt(-1);
        final MutableInt max = new MutableInt(Integer.MIN_VALUE);
        this.iterate(new FnIntIntToVoid() {
            public void call(int idx, int val) {
                if (val > max.v) {
                    argmax.v = idx;
                    max.v = val;
                }
            }
        });
        return argmax.v;
    }

    public int getMin() {
        final MutableInt min = new MutableInt(Integer.MAX_VALUE);
        this.iterate(new FnIntIntToVoid() {
            public void call(int idx, int val) {
                if (val < min.v) {
                    min.v = val;
                }
            }
        });
        return min.v;
    }

    public int getArgmin() {
        final MutableInt argmin = new MutableInt(-1);
        final MutableInt min = new MutableInt(Integer.MAX_VALUE);
        this.iterate(new FnIntIntToVoid() {
            public void call(int idx, int val) {
                if (val < min.v) {
                    argmin.v = idx;
                    min.v = val;
                }
            }
        });
        return argmin.v;
    }

    public int getL2Norm() {
        final MutableInt sum = new MutableInt(0);
        this.iterate(new FnIntIntToVoid() {
            public void call(int idx, int val) {
                sum.v += val*val;
            }
        });
        return sum.sqrt();
    }

    public int getInfNorm() {
        final MutableInt maxAbs = new MutableInt(Integer.MIN_VALUE);
        this.iterate(new FnIntIntToVoid() {
            public void call(int idx, int val) {
                int abs = Math.abs(val);
                if (abs > maxAbs.v) {
                    maxAbs.v = abs;
                }
            }
        });
        return maxAbs.v;
    }

}


text:
Alpha Data
Beauty INC
LDJ
Variety Intelligence Platform
Variety Announces Lineup For 2015 "Variety Studio: Actors On Actors"
Actor on Actor Conversations to stream on Variety.com and air on PBS SoCal starting in December LOS ANGELES, CA, NOVEMBER 11, 2015 – Variety announces the line-up for the upcoming Variety Studio: Actors on Actors series co-produced by PBS SoCal. This is the third edition of the Actors on Actors series and will focus on…
Variety Names Kirstin Wilder International Editor
Los Angeles, November 9, 2015: Variety veteran Kirstin Wilder has been named international editor for the global industry trade publication. In her new role, Wilder will work closely with Variety's international team of reporters in expanding overseas news efforts and increasing the production of film festival show dailies. Wilder will also identify new opportunities to extend the…
Variety & WWD Announce First Annual StyleMakers Honorees
The Leaders in Entertainment and Fashion Come together to honor Innovators for their accomplishments in both worlds FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Los Angeles, CA (November 4, 2015) –Variety & WWD are launching the First Annual StyleMakers on November 19th at Smashbox Studios in Culver City, CA. The iconic publications are coming together to recognize and celebrate…
Mashable Launches India Edition with India.com
New York, Los Angeles and New Delhi, November 3, 2015: Mashable, the leading media company for the digital generation, and India.com Webportal Private Limited, India's fastest-growing and leading content publisher today announced the launch of Mashable India. This new online destination will bring together Mashable's mission of inspiring and informing its global community about how…
Los Angeles, October 6, 2015: PMC-owned Variety has named Dea Lawrence as its chief marketing officer. As CMO, Lawrence will be responsible for driving Variety's global branding and communications strategy. Lawrence will report to publisher Michelle Sobrino-Stearns and will be based in the company's Los Angeles office. "Dea is a born leader who possesses a…
Variety Expands TV team with Hire of Maureen Ryan
PMC-Owned Publication Amplifies Its Leading TV Coverage With Hire of Additional Chief TV Critic Los Angeles, September 24, 2015: PMC-owned Variety today announced it is boosting its award-winning television coverage with the hiring of acclaimed critic Maureen Ryan. Ryan, a widely respected voice in the industry, will work alongside Variety's longtime TV critic Brian Lowry,…
Variety-Japan Launches, Powered By PMC's Variety and Variety.com
Site to leverage expertise of revered U.S. publication for leading entertainment news for Japanese audience Tokyo, September 16, 2015: Penske Media Corporation (PMC) today announced a new partnership with Tokyo Sangyo Shimbun, Inc. to launch Variety-Japan, to deliver Variety's revered entertainment content direct to a Japanese audience, signaling PMC's move toward more such globally-targeted content…
Kristopher Tapley Joins Variety as Co-Awards Editor
Hire of prominent blogger and analyst boosts Variety's leading awards season coverage Los Angeles, August 3, 2015: Kristopher Tapley, whose film awards blog In Contention is a must-read in Hollywood, has joined PMC-owned Variety as Co-Awards editor. Tapley will help lead the publication's awards coverage, providing daily, on-the-spot coverage under the In Contention banner on Variety.com as well…
Penske Media Corporation Expands Business With Chief Photographer Hire
Hire of top L.A. photographer Michael Buckner signals evolution in images business for PMC-owned Variety Los Angeles, July 29, 2015: Penske Media Corporation today announced the hire of Michael Buckner as its first-ever chief photographer, signalling a significant step in PMC's expansion in the editorial images business. Buckner has been a photojournalist with Getty Images…
Variety And PBS SoCal Celebrate Los Angeles Area Emmy® Win For Variety Studio: Actors On Actors
Los Angeles, Calif. (July 27, 2015) – Variety would like to congratulate its partner, PBS SoCaL, PBS for Greater Los Angeles, for being honored with a Los Angeles Area Emmy® Award by The Television Academy in the Best Entertainment Program category for Variety Studio: Actors on Actors. The winners were announced at the 67th Los Angeles…
Penske Media Corporation Acquires Awards Prediction Site Gold Derby
PMC expands dominance of entertainment reporting by adding GoldDerby.com to its offerings Los Angeles, July 21, 2015: Penske Media Corporation (PMC) today announced its acquisition of GoldDerby.com, a site renowned in Hollywood for showcasing entertainment industry award predictions by top journalists and savvy fans. Gold Derby brings with it to PMC distinctive opportunities to integrate…
WWD and LA Times Pair Up to Power Targeted Fashion Content
PMC-owned WWD, Footwear News, and Beauty Inc bring best of insider fashion to LA Times subscribers Los Angeles, July 20, 2015: Penske Media Corporation (PMC) and Tribune Publishing Company (NYSE: TPUB) today announced that WWD, PMC's industry-leading fashion and beauty publication, will appear on LATimes.com and also be distributed to select Los Angeles Times,…
Shutterstock and Penske Media Form Strategic Editorial Imagery and Video Partnership
Alliance to create leading global image library anchored by PMC's WWD and Variety CANNES, FRANCE, NEW YORK, NY and LOS ANGELES, CA, June 22, 2015– Shutterstock, Inc. (NYSE: SSTK) and Penske Media Corporation (PMC) have agreed to form an alliance that will create and license entertainment and fashion images and videos to the world's top…
Alliance to create integrated archive for iconic brands, including PMC's WWD, FN, Deadline, and Variety SAN MATEO, Calif., June 22, 2015: WebDAM, a leader in digital asset management (DAM) and a Shutterstock company, was selected by Penske Media Corporation (PMC) to support PMC's editorial and creative teams' needs to store, organize, access, and manage visual content…
Variety Expands to Silicon Valley with Hire of Janko Roettgers
LOS ANGELES, CA, April 30, 2015 – Variety, owned by Penske Media Corporation, announced today its first-ever editorial hire based in Silicon Valley, a recognition of the ever-increasing importance of technology in the entertainment business. Janko Roettgers, who previously served as senior writer at technology publication GigaOm, is joining Variety as senior Silicon Valley correspondent.…
Turning the Page — WWD Introduces New Weekly Format
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NEW YORK, NY (April 29, 2015) – After 105 years of leading news coverage of fashion, beauty, and retail, WWD will embark on a new chapter in its history today with the launch of its new weekly magazine. WWD will continue to lead the industry with the most expansive and consistent news…
Variety's Power of Women Luncheon Returns To New York, Presented By Lifetime
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Variety's Power of Women Celebrates the Entertainment Industry's Most Philanthropic and Inspiring Women Honorees at the April 24th New York City Event Include Glenn Close, Lena Dunham, Whoopi Goldberg, Rachel Weisz and Kim Kardashian West LOS ANGELES, CA, April 14, 2015 – Variety is pleased to announce Variety's Power of Women: New York…
Variety to Honor ITV CEO Adam Crozier With Achievement in International TV Award at MIPTV
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Adam Crozier, CEO of ITV, will receive Variety's Annual Achievement in International Television Award during MIPTV 2015 February 27, 2015 – (Los Angeles) Variety Magazine is proud to honor ITV CEO Adam Crozier with this year's Achievement in International TV Award at an exclusive cocktail reception on the Croisette. "The Achievement in…
Unite4:Good And Variety Announce Star-Studded Line-Up Of Presenters And Performers For 2nd Annual "Unite4:Humanity" Event Presented By Alcatel OneTouch
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE UNITE4:GOOD AND VARIETY ANNOUNCE STAR-STUDDED LINE-UP OF PRESENTERS AND PERFORMERS FOR 2ND ANNUAL "UNITE4:HUMANITY" EVENT PRESENTED BY ALCATEL ONETOUCH Golden Globe Winning Actress Amy Poehler Among Honorees Presenters include Academy Award®-Winning Actor Jeff Bridges, Actress Emily Blunt and Actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson February 19, 2015 – (Los Angeles, CA) Today, unite4:good (www.unite4good.org)…
PMC Expands Paul Jowdy's Role To Senior Vice President, Group Publisher of WWD
Penske Media Corp. Expands Paul Jowdy's Role To Senior Vice President, Group Publisher of WWD Jowdy to Lead Fairchild Summits and other Fashion Initiatives Across PMC Portfolio New York, NY – February 18, 2015: Jay Penske, Chairman and CEO of PMC, today named Paul Jowdy Senior Vice President and Group Publisher of WWD, effective immediately.…
Mashable Partners with India.com to Launch "Mashable India"
Mashable Partners with India.com to Launch "Mashable India" Site to leverage reach, expertise of joint brands for global, Indian content for Connected Generation New York, Los Angeles and New Delhi, February 18, 2015: Mashable, the leading media company for the Connected Generation, and India.com Web Portal Limited, India's fastest-growing and leading publisher of original content,…


For ASIA NOW's special project, the Busan Biennale exhibition team presents the solo exhibition of Kim Jooyoung, the first generation avant-garde experimental artist in Korea. This exhibition presents Kim's past performance videos and interviews, material and drawing archives, as well as two live performances and one artist's talk. In last year's exhibition an/other avant-garde China-Japan-Korea, Busan Biennale focused on avant-garde art, particularly the avant-garde art in Korea, China and Japan, which received relatively less focus in the west-centered world art history. This exhibition is considered to have contributed greatly to the initiation of the discourse on the Asian avant-garde scene that's currently being discussed.
of burning amulets in Taj Mahal (1996) and the ritual in the salt fields in Yanjing (2006). The ritual is the purest and most immersive of human actions for the artist, who expresses that our very life is the momentary residing and encounter in the boundary between life and death.
"The word nomad in human history signifies something that lies inherent in mankind. History is marked by the nomadic drifting of all people who have left for the road, including the Bohemians, the Jewish diaspora of wandering for ethnological and sociological reasons, and the modern-day migrants, refugees and boat people who roam for political reasons. My work is about the ecological circulation of the universe through the process of art, and can be seen to be reaching the spiritual realm of shamanistic and Buddhist circulation."


text:
Man in the Mirror: Michael Jackson Died of Self-Hatred
Nicholas Powers Jul 23, 2009
What is wrong with Michael Jackson?" I asked so many times it became a punch line. Like most jokes, it overpowered the anxiety that I felt when looking at Michael's thinning body and ghoulish face.
Now that he's dead, I can ask what happened to him and why I didn't stop joking. Maybe I couldn't afford empathy while he was alive. He might release another desperate album, dangle his toddler over a hotel railing again, a new photo of his face would make the news, or another boy would leave his bed singed by handprints.
But I still followed the news because before he was "Wacko Jacko" he was simply Michael. He achieved a first name intimacy with the world.
Everyone loved him, and because he came from us, his stardom meant we could be loved. He was skinny and coy and he moon-walked. He glided over sidewalks, spun and never fell. That's what I loved most about him.
I was only seven years old but already knew that color meant weight. We lived in the projects of Harrisburg, Pa., where poverty was a daily pressure; eyes watched me and I watched myself. I was told to lock the door because junkies might break in, to close window shades so people didn't see what we had and not to talk about our business in the street. Danger, real and imagined, surrounded us. But at night, we watched TV, and Mom pointed over my shoulder at Michael in the "Billie Jean" video, dancing through trash-strewn streets as if free from our weight. "He's the first black man on MTV," she said. And I saw the city glow beneath his feet.
Michael also taught me how to be ugly. At school we divided the playground into Good Clothes versus Bad Clothes. The Good Clothes kids had name-brand sneakers, pressed hair and sports team shirts. They laughed at us with our knock-off Velcro shoes, threadbare pants and checkered shirts. They laughed until "Thriller" hit and we were pushing each other out of the way to do the zombie dance. But the Good Clothes were too careful, trying not to scrape their shoes or stain their pants and gave up as the Bad Clothes kids took over. We already looked like zombies, gaunt, tattered and exuberant. We rolled and kicked our feet and thrust our arms around our heads because we had nothing left to lose. We weren't worried about wrecking our clothes. Our ugliness was power and we never let them forget it.
Michael was left behind when we leapt into adolescence. In high school, music was currency from the adult world, and we traded it like cigarettes in prison. "You got Motley Crue?" We'd look around. "Yeah, you got NWA?" "No, but I got Ice-T." "Alright, hit me." The more loud, angry, funky and obscure the music was, the higher one's reputation. No one traded Michael. He was too falsetto, too boyish for those of us posing like the tough asses on "Yo! MTV Raps." By the time Michael's 1987 Bad record came out he was a target of scorn. We scrawled on the album posters in the subway, Bad Nose Job, Bad Skin Cream, Bad Music. Somehow we sensed that however eager we were to leave childhood, Michael was content to stay in it.
Over the years he flashed his glove on TV and it seemed that his shades, military jacket and boots were a sarcophagus. He created a fantasy world called Neverland. He purchased llamas and monkeys. He bought whiteness. He brought children into his bed. Each new headline was a police-linedo- not-cross tape across memories where a wonder-man danced free and the city could glow under our feet.
MICHAEL JACKSON'S MASK
He was a joke, an embarrassment, until I saw the 1999 satirical war drama Three Kings. The film, which is set during the 1991 Iraqi uprising against Saddam Hussein after the Gulf War, features a trio of greedy U.S. soldiers who steal Kuwaiti gold. One soldier, Troy Barlow, played by Mark Wahlberg, is caught by Iraqi soldiers and taken into a basement to be tortured. The Iraqi officer asks him coolly, "What is the problem with Michael Jackson?"
The Iraqi holds up his hand as if it's the glittering glove. "He come to Egypt. Hello I'm Michael Jackson with my chop-up face. Your country make him chop up his face," he says.
"That's bullshit; he did it to himself," Wahlberg says. The Iraqi officer slams him. "It is obvious! A black man make the skin white and the hair straight and you know why? Your sick fuckin' country make the black man hate himself just like you hate the Arab and the children you bomb over here."
I paused the scene and thought, "Yeah, Michael is a symptom of America. He's not a joke, but a warning."
I pulled the 1903 The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois off my shelf to read his definition of "double-consciousness," to help me understand how the man who sang soul and neo-soul could destroy his own. His classic line gushed from that split between who we are and who others want us to be: "This sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity."
In 2007, I walked into the classroom where I taught an African-American literature course at SUNY Old Westbury. The students sized me up as I handed out papers and said, "Please flip them over." They did and saw photocopies of Michael's face spanning from beautiful brown to ghostly white. Also included were photographs of Lil' Kim from sullen pout to bulb-cheeked mannequin.
"We assume," I intoned, "ideas are immaterial. But hopefully these images show that ideas are real and can determine our lives."
They gawked at the photos.
"How many of us have been called too fat, too thin, too dark or too nappy and stood in front of a mirror wanting to be different?"
Everyone raised their hand, including me. "So did they; except their self-hate had a budget. Part of the goal of Black literature is to shift the questioning from our self-worth to question the worth of the ideas we believe in. Ideas of beauty. Ideas of power."
We read Du Bois and began to see the invisible eye that floats above us, watching us watch ourselves. A young man sitting mid-row shook his head. "They called me Zulu, shadow, and remember that Dave Chappelle skit?" He swallowed slowly. "Darkness. Darkness. They were on me with that. Darkness." People hummed "yes" as the student's words flowed over shame like a stream.
After class ended I stared at Michael as I stacked papers. "You're not going to last long," I muttered.
When the news of his death hit, I was sad, but not shocked. He looked dead already, a waif spirit looking for an exit out of the world.
In the midst of the eulogies, I remembered when he was killing himself slowly in public and most of us, me included, made jokes about it. Although his music is the gift most celebrated, it's the lesson he couldn't learn that I keep.
At some point, to survive, we have to take off the mask we wear for others and demand to be loved without it.


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The U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation paving the way for a memorial to honor the Adams family � including Presidents John and John Quincy, as well as first lady Abigail � near the National Mall.
The bill, passed Wednesday and authored by U.S. Rep. William Delahunt, will give the Adams Memorial Foundation a seven-year extension to complete the monument proposal and an environmental assessment of potential sites.
The Adams Memorial Foundation is a non-profit corporation that exists solely to create a Washington memorial commemorating the Adams family.
Former Quincy Mayor James A. Sheets, the foundation�s regional director in charge of foundation affairs in the Northeast, said the idea for the library monument came from foundation board member David McCullough, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and author of a John Adams biography.
Although an exact location for the memorial has not been chosen, it will be near the National Mall, Sheets said.
He said the memorial will not be built until the foundation has raised enough money to to pay for the construction. The foundation has proposed using Quincy granite in the building.
In a statement, Delahunt said the monument is long overdue, given the family�s contributions to the nation.
In November 2001, Congress passed legislation to establish the Adams Memorial Foundation. The legislation was sponsored by Delahunt and the late Sen. Edward Kennedy.
A year later, Congress authorized the foundation to facilitate the creation of a memorial on land in and around the National Mall, which runs from the Washington Monument to the U.S. Capitol.