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White Supremacy Is America's Original Pyramid Scheme
Ijeoma Oluo on the roots of police brutality, the model minority myth, and the school-to-prison pipeline
Photo by Alex Holyoake on Unsplash
Deirdre Sugiuchi
Ijeoma Oluo started writing about issues of race out of necessity. "The issues that were impacting me, my family and other Black people in Seattle were really incongruent with Seattle's political attitude and reputation. It felt like gaslighting, and I was trying to find a way for people to get engaged." Oluo started by sharing her work on Facebook and on Twitter. "First mostly people of color in the Seattle area started really being drawn to the work and asking if they could repost it." Soon magazines and editors began contacting her. "Within a matter of years I really had to make a choice if I was going to continue writing or with my day job because I couldn't do both. when you find a space where you can write openly about things that matter and can make a difference there really isn't a choice."
Her New York Times bestseller So You Want To Talk About Race guides readers in thinking and discussing race, gender, and sexuality while deconstructing white supremacy. Each chapter focuses on questions such as "What is intersectionality and why do I need it?" or "I just got called a racist. What do I do now?"
Oluo and I spoke by Skype the week that the Chicago teachers went on strike, a few days after Atatiana Jefferson was shot to death by the police, and a week before the 45th president deemed the current impeachment hearings a lynching. As a citizen of a nation founded on the twin evils of enslavement and genocide, I hesitate to say that Oluo's scholarship is needed now more than ever, but I know that it is needed.
Oluo and I spoke about the model minority myth, how the origins of the police force play into the murders of people of color, and why protecting the childhoods of children of color should be viewed as a national emergency.
Deirdre Sugiuchi: You talk about white supremacy as being this nation's original pyramid scheme, one where even those who have lost everything are still waiting to cash out. Do you mind elaborating on this?
Ijeoma Oluo: The system of capitalism is a brutal system that exploits almost everyone. Slavery and the American system of race were created as a function to justify capitalism by getting as much free labor as possible out of Black people to justify the brutality required from it. Also it was to give a space for lower-income whites to play a part in the system to help uphold the system when they were going to get very little payout. The promise was that you were going to get something out of it, that you were going to at least be better off than Black people, that you were going to get your reward, that if you worked hard enough you were going to rise to the top in a way that people of color never would, because it was your birthright, not theirs.
The system of capitalism is a brutal system that exploits almost everyone.
It helped convince lower and middle-class white Americans to play their part in exploiting Black people and Native people, in order to increase their chances and their payday that was never going to come, because capitalism has always been designed to make sure that a select few get the most profit out of the system. It's a pyramid scheme. You've got middle managers getting lower-class whites to buy in constantly, telling them, "Your paycheck's coming, your paycheck's coming" and everyone is stepping on everyone else but all that cash is already spent. It's already allocated to everyone on top.
People have wasted their entire lives and have participated in really violent systems in the hopes that one day it will pay off for them and all that it's giving them right now is just a sense of identity and the ability to look in the mirror and go, "At least I'm not Black." They're losing so much more potential because there could be using a different system, one that doesn't restrict 98% of the wealth to the very top.
DS: Agreed. It's so disgusting to me that right now the working class is being taxed at a higher rate than the billionaire class. We just had this highly racialized election and people have blatantly got screwed over and they're still buying in. Speaking of, I love that you cite Ronald Takaki, who wrote about how racism is experienced by different ethnic groups in America and introduced me to that subject from a historical perspective.
IO: I first read Takaki in college. His work is so fundamental to talking about race in America, and the bamboo ceiling, and the model minority myth. I wish he was referenced more in contemporary works on race.
DS: I actually wanted to ask you about the model minority myth, which you say is an act of racism that harms Asian Americans and benefits white supremacy. Can you elaborate?
IO: It's really important to recognize that the model minority myth was created to first be used against Black Americans and to say, "Look they have nothing to complain about. Look how great Asian Americans are doing." It harms Asian Americans on so many levels because the story of the success of Asian Americans has to do with patterns of migration, who is allowed in and who isn't, but also people like to lump all Asian Americans together. Asia is a huge section of the world and has so many countries and so many cultures and circumstances. [Lumping all Asian Americans together] ultimately erases the struggles that many Asian Americans face. It hides extreme wealth and opportunity imbalances within Asian American communities. It makes it much harder for many Asian Americans to effectively advocate for services and to be heard when they do because people go: "what are you talking about? You're Asian, you should be just fine."
It's important to recognize that the model minority myth was created to first be used against Black Americans.
It also hides other issues impacting Asian American communities like the fact that you may well be able to rise up to middle management but your chances of being promoted to upper levels of management if you are Asian American is decreased. Your chances of being elected to government and having that sort of representation are decreased. Your chances of getting help for domestic violence or mental health issues are decreased because these myths are ingrained, that Asian Americans are strong, that they're stoic, but also that they're not really leaders. All of these work against Asian Americans and they also work against other people of color because that message is used to silence the issues of other groups of color have as well. It also stops any sort of solidarity between Asian Americans and Black Americans or Latinx Americans or Native people, because people are played against each other in a way that only serves white supremacy.
DS: Right now the nation is reeling from the death of Joshua Brown and Atatiana Jefferson, and before that from the death of Botham Jean. This past weekend here in my community of Athens, Georgia, a 28-year-old man is in serious condition due to excessive use of police force. You say that few subjects shed greater light on the racial divide in the United States than the subject of police brutality. Can you discuss the history of the police forces and how they were born from the Night Patrols, the units who controlled Black and Native populations in New England and assisted the Slave Patrols?
IO: I think it's really important for people to understand that our police forces are rooted in violent white supremacy and they've always had dual purposes. The dual roles of these were to capture escaped slaves and protect white citizens. From the very beginning of the police forces we've had two separate mandates—to control Black people and to protect white people. It's important to know that this is in the DNA. This is how our police forces were started.
The night patrols were precursors to police in America. Many white people who don't understand the issue of police brutality because they are being served by that other mandate to protect and serve white people and it's hard to reconcile how one officer you trust to save your life will take the life of a Black person. It's important to recognize that the entire training, that the entire structure of the police force has been designed to ensure that that is what happens, that they will protect and serve whiteness and that they will control violently if necessary Black Americans. That dual identity has always existed and is part of the bones of American policing.
DS: This morning I was listening to NPR and they were talking about how the warrior mindset played into the death of Atatiana Jefferson. Basically this mindset views people as threats and that's the way officers are trained.
IO: That's the part that always confuses me because the reason why we are supposed to appreciate police forces is because they're supposed to risk their lives for us, but at the same time it is very clear even by the justifications given for the death of murders of Black Americans is that they are never supposed to risk their lives for us. Even at a hint of possible danger, they are trained to shoot us. So then why do we have police when they are never trained to risk their lives for ours? Why do they have all of these vests? Why do they get all these accolades if they aren't supposed to take some risk and that risk is this person may not be armed?
From the very beginning, the police forces had two separate mandates—to control Black people and to protect white people.
But if that person is Black, that is not how they are trained. They're trained to shoot to kill. They are not trained to protect us. They are not trained to risk their lives for us and that's something I think we really need to understand is that all this defense people give for police, what they're actually saying is when they say that phone could have been a gun, that hand in that pocket could have been a gun, what they're actually saying is I'm not willing to risk my life. My life is so much more important than yours but even the hypothetical risk that your hand could be a weapon means that you deserve to die because that hypothetical chance is not big enough to take. I'm that much more important than you. It's really what we're saying about the value of Blacks and Native Americans in this country, that the hypothetical risk to our police isn't even worth it and they're the one people tasked to risk their lives to save people. That hypocrisy always just gets to me.
DS: I taught in public schools for fifteen years and was fascinated by all you had to say about the school-to-prison pipeline. Can you discuss how the high levels of suspensions and expulsions lead to the school-to-prison pipeline?
IO: Any time you have youths out of school, you're going to increase the chance of crime, so when you have youths of color being released continuously from school you increase the likelihood with all the free time and the bad decisions that students make they're going to tend towards crime. Also what we see is school resource officers are used to enforce suspensions and expulsions. Often the student is not just suspended and expelled, they are arrested. School resource officers really escalate the situation and not only that, they are predominantly placed in schools with large amounts of African American children. They predominantly target them in a way that doesn't actually match any increase in violence, drugs, or truancy at school. They target them because they are there.
Once a child is entered into that system, it's very hard to get them out. Being removed from their friends or their social support groups and placed in detention centers, it is really hard for them to ever get back on track and it's very hard for them to be treated like children worth educating by the school system after that, and it's really the beginning of a lifelong relationship with a criminal justice system that really robs our youth of their whole livelihoods. It's really important to recognize how heavy use of school resource officers, how unchecked discipline programs of suspensions and expulsions, are forcing our Black children and Hispanic children into the system, especially if they are at a really young age—dooming them to a life in prison before they even know what hit them.
We have to find a solution to this, we have to start recognizing the right to education, a safe education for all of our children. What is deemed a threat to our children is different from what is deemed a threat to white children. Maybe some families might feel safer sending their white children to a school that has a school resource officer, but it often does not make Black and brown children any safer at all. Just like the rest of our criminal justice system, there is very little accountability for how youth of color are treated by the system. Very few people are looking into these numbers and figuring out nationwide how many of our children are being stolen. Activists are, of course, but I'm talking about the accountability government level. Our youth jails are filled with children of color, no matter how few children a color are within a demographic area. That absolutely needs to stop.
DS: You talk about how we are teaching from textbooks that teach white culture and taking tests designed for white students. A lot of the teachers are majority-white and come from different backgrounds from their students. All of these things make it harder for children of color to succeed in school. How can we have a diverse and inclusive education for all of our kids in a white supremacist society?
IO: I think it's important to realize that no matter what the racial makeup of your classroom is, you're not adequately educating your children if you're not providing a diverse and inclusive curriculum, if you're not recognizing that absolutely every subject has contributions from people of color and it's more than just one month a year for one racial and demographic. Your children aren't learning anything accurate or adequate about any field—math, science, English, history, social studies—if they aren't learning it from a diverse perspective.
You're not adequately educating your children if you're not providing a diverse and inclusive curriculum.
Often times when I go into schools and workshop with teachers, we start talking about what sort of opportunities each class has to teach about to increase the diversity and teach through a racial justice lens, it's often really hard for them to imagine the different ways. But when I do these exercises with students, especially students of color, they have a myriad of experiences. In almost every single class we have billboards of ideas from them that they know that if they had a class that really cared about racial justice, teachers that cared about racial justice, they have so many ideas about what that would look like. Because we are a racialized people, every subject has a racialized lens. Every subject has people of all races that are contributing to it and deserves to be heard and we need to normalize the thought of people of color existing and achieving and interacting in every system and every subject matter that our students learn about, and that's something that students of color need to see and that's something that white students need to see.
Oftentimes teachers only tend to see this issue if they have a high minority population in their class, but they're also cheating their white students out of an adequate education if they don't do this.
DS: For the most part I've only taught predominantly students of color, but thinking of my own education, I agree, it's imperative for people, for society, to understand. I so appreciate you writing about children and sharing stories about your family and yourself. You say the biggest tragedy of our schools is the loss of childhood joy. Can you elaborate on this?
IO: Our children, I mean children of color, are not able to be rambunctious. They're not able to make mistakes. They're not able to be rebellious. They feel the thrill of discovery of seeing someone who looks like them in their textbooks, of getting the praise and attention from their teachers that white children get. All of these things are integral to childhood. They're part of the whole fairy tale that we tell about childhood and it's robbing our youth. And of course, in the more extreme, they're being robbed of their youth when they are kicked out of school, when they are being sent to prison at an early age, when they are being brutalized by school resource officers. They're being robbed of childhood and we can't get those years back.
As adults we can sue, we can do whatever we can to try to rectify the harm done to adults, but we cannot give a childhood back to someone. Those years never come back. Those formative experiences never come back and that absolutely breaks my heart when I see how often being an actual child just costs Black children, Native children, Hispanic children, in particular. They don't get that back. They don't get that carefree joy back. It robs you of something for the rest of your life and that absolutely breaks my heart. Too often instead of looking at how can we preserve and protect childhood for children of color, we look at how can we compensate them after it has already been stolen. And you can't ever. To me, it's an emergency. Each child that goes through the system without us doing something has lost something that can never be returned and that's an absolute tragedy and a crime. We have to treat it like every day that we don't address this, like we have lost another childhood. We have to treat it with that urgency.
Deirdre Sugiuchi is finishing her fundamentalist boot camp memoir, Unreformed. Sugiuchi's work has been featured in Electric Literature, Guernica, the Rumpus, Shondaland, and other places. She lives with her partner and son in Athens, Georgia, where she's also a public school librarian.
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"International Women's Year, Berlin Paper, page 7"
From the papers of Dr. Usha G. Mahajani, this is page seven of a working paper from Commission VI of the International Women's Year World Congress in Berlin, October 1975. The page discusses women, worldwide peace and the UN's recognition of countries standing up to imperialist intervention. Peace is a focus of the Commission along with detente, international security and the environment. Mahajani, a Political Science professor at Central Washington State College [CWU] from 1967-1978, attended the IWY Congress as a delegate for India.
"International Women's Year, Berlin Paper, page 7" (1975). Washington State Conference for Women, 1977. 252.


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Tech Week: Apple In Homes, Snowden Anniversary, Sexism Flare-Ups
By Elise Hu
Apple's Craig Federighi introduces the company's Home Kit platform during the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco.
It's time for your quick rundown of the week that was in technology and culture.
Tech's Gender Gap: Getting women to join and stay in technology company ranks is a well-documented issue; a few incidents this week probably didn't do much to help the problem. Chicago's Techweek apologized for using provocatively posing women in a party invite after losing big names and a sponsor. Also this week, a slide showed up at a tech conference in Europe, in which a developer compared a software framework to a whiny girlfriend.
John Oliver's Rant: Our most popular post on All Tech this week featured comedian John Oliver's 13-minute takedown of cable Internet providers. He explains net neutrality and ends with an impassioned call to comment on the FCC's site.
The Big Conversations
One Year Since Snowden: What hath Edward Snowden wrought? Aarti Shahani brought us a look at winners and losers since the first revelations of the NSA's widespread surveillance, what the former government contractor calls "indefensible collection activities." Snowden himself told Brian Williams his actions in spilling so many intelligence operations were harmless, but over on Lawfare, Benjamin Wittes doesn't buy it.
Apple in Homes and Health: At its Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, Apple's bigwigs unveiled the company's new iOS8, OS X Yosemite (following a theme of California-place names) and its forays into building centralized hubs for your fitness and health data, and separate central platform for an Internet of Things smart home.
Quartz: Netflix's Video Error Message Is A Clever Attack On Cable Companies
Netflix is upping its battle with the cable giants by telling consumers why their video connections are choking.
Seattle Times: Google Confirms Yakima Loon Balloon Crash
One of the company's test Wi-Fi balloons went down.
BBC: Garage Owner Fakes Google 'Murder' In Edinburgh Street
Two years after a pair of guys faked a murder for the Google car's cameras, authorities got word of it. Good thing this wasn't a real killing.
Elise Hu
Elise Hu is a host-at-large based at NPR West in Culver City, Calif. Previously, she explored the future with her video series, Future You with Elise Hu, and served as the founding bureau chief and International Correspondent for NPR's Seoul office. She was based in Seoul for nearly four years, responsible for the network's coverage of both Koreas and Japan, and filed from a dozen countries across Asia.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I recently needed to send some custom metrics to AWS Cloudwatch. This is no rocket science but a lightweight example may safe some time implementing it.
A nodejs based computation service which adds a lot more abstraction of computation from resources than ec2 does.
Creation of customized Amazon Cloud Images made fast and easy!


PLEASE NOTE: This show contains mature language and adult content. Herbal tobacco will be used in this production.
My mother always said I was like a bull in a china shop. My dance background is not in ballet but clogging. I hopped around on crutches a total of nine times from middle school to college.
Needless to say I have never been described as graceful.
Abigail, Angus, and Ollie probably wouldn't describe themselves as moving through their latter years with grace. When we first meet them it seems they have made a complete mess of their respective lives. Yet over the course of the play we get to witness each of them make a bold decision. They choose to face extraordinarily difficult moments in their lives by looking them square in the eye.
To honor the truth of a situation equals grace. It can be messy and ugly sometimes but hopefully, as is true for these characters, owning up to our ugly parts — our cowardice, our self-doubt — can reward us with beautiful moments of hilarity. It can reward us with situations which are even more absurd than the one we thought we were experiencing. And when we make it to the other side it can reward us with a new beginning.
I'll trade that kind of grace for not tripping on the sidewalk any day.


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Toxins cause a variety of disease and illness and that is why detoxification process is essential. With detoxification process, you can improve your health.


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New federal law protects consumers from costly 'surprise' medical bills
A new federal law, the No Surprises Act, protects consumers from surprise billing, large bills incurred when patients need care outside their insurance's provider network.
Air ambulance bills from carriers who didn't sign contacts with major North Dakota health insurers could total $55,000 or more. The practice is prohibited under the federal No Surprises Act, which took effect Jan. 1, 2022.
File photo/Forum News Service
By Patrick Springer
FARGO — North Dakota patients who received air ambulance services from a carrier outside their insurance network were stuck with bills that averaged $55,341 in a tally by state insurance officials.
Now, under a new federal law that took effect Jan. 1, consumers will be protected from whopping "surprise bills" obligating them for any amount greater than their insurance paid for out-of-network care.
The No Surprise Bill Act requires out-of-network medical providers and insurance companies negotiate payments when patients receive care outside their health insurance networks. As a result, consumers will no longer be stuck with the balance.
"It takes the consumer out of the middle of these discussions," said Jon Godfread, North Dakota insurance commissioner. "Ultimately, they shouldn't be receiving those bills anymore, which is a big win for consumers."
The new law addresses problems that come up from out-of-network ambulance services, emergency care or out-of-network providers working within an in-network facilities.
In North Dakota, most health systems are integrated, meaning they provide a full range of services within their care network. As a result, surprise bills for routine health care aren't common, he said.
Traditionally, health insurance plans provided broad coverage, with nearly all providers considered "in network."
But so-called "narrow network" plans have become increasingly popular in recent years because they come with premiums that can be 10% to 20% lower. Consumers with narrow network plans must be careful to stay within their care network to avoid out-of-network charges.
Now, under the No Surprises Act, medical providers must notify patients if they are out of network.
In North Dakota, the biggest problems with surprise bills came from one or two air ambulance services that didn't sign contracts with major health insurers, leaving many patients with high, "out-of-network" balance bills.
"It does present some challenges," Godfread said, because some consumers are confused about which providers are inside or outside their network.
By far, surprise bills from air ambulance services have been the big problem in North Dakota, he said. An analysis by state insurance officials in 2017 found that 18 air ambulance bills ranged from $18,000 to $83,613 and averaged $55,341.
The Sanford Health Plan has created a page on its website for information about consumer protections under the No Surprises Act.
Most out-of-network bills result when people travel and get sick or injured and require care away from home, said Stephanie Wessels, Sanford Health Plan's principal strategic and operations adviser.
"That's when a lot of these things occur," she said. The Sanford Health Plan's narrow network plans, which require customers to get care from Sanford Health providers, are only sold in areas such as Fargo and Sioux Falls, S.D., where a full range of medical services are available through the organization, Wessels said.
Under the No Surprises Act, the customer isn't penalized if given care outside the insurance network. "The member's held harmless, essentially," she said.
Now the onus is on health providers to alert patients if they are outside the care network. "They're required to provide this model notice," Wessels said. "They do have to give them notice."
Matthew Farrell, Essentia Health's senior director of access management, said the health system is highly integrated, so offers a full range of services. "We operate as a team," he said, so surprise bills don't arise.
Still, Essentia supports the law's consumer protections, including the requirement to notify patients if Essentia isn't in their provider network. "We're very supportive of this provision of the No Surprises Act," Farrell said.
Next year, under the law health providers will be required to provide estimated out-of-pocket costs patients would incur for care. Essentia has been providing estimates to patients for a number of years, Farrell said.
The complexity of medical care, in which five patients with the same condition could have five somewhat different treatments, makes cost transparency a challenge, he said. "We've started going down that journey, but we have a ways to go," Farrell said.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota also has a page on its website explaining consumer protections under the No Surprises Act.
Even though most of North Dakota's medical providers are well integrated, surprise bills sometimes happen.
"From what I've seen, it's fairly rare, but I can tell you it does happen," said Jeff Ubben, vice president of compliance and regulatory affairs for Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota.
The No Surprises Act will benefit consumers, he said. "We support transparency that I think this will add to the health care process," Ubben said. "We don't want to see our members receive surprise bills."
North Dakota residents who have a surprise bill problem can contact the North Dakota Department of Insurance at insurance@nd.gov or by calling 701-328-2440.
Related Topics: NEWSMDHEALTHCARE
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As cases grow like North Dakotans have never seen before — we are also learning more about the long-term impacts of the virus: brain fog, lung problems and hair loss — just to name a few. Our region's most trusted infectious disease experts are showing us the latest on these lingering effects of COVID.
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Inle lake is located in the middle of the greatest depression in Nyaungshwe valley between the two parallel mountain ranges running north to south in the southern Shan State. This vast picturesque lake, 900 metres above sea-level is the second largest natural lake and one of the main tourist attractions in Myanmar. The lake has 22 km long and 10 km wide. Inle Lake is famous for its scenic beauty and the unique leg-rowing of the Inthas, the native lake dwellers. The main attraction of Inle lake is the famous Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda situated in the middle of the lake. Every year, both local and foreign pilgrims and visitors would flock to the Pagoda for its annual festival.
Taunggyi, the capital of Shan state is known for its scenic beauty and pleasant climate. It is cool the whole year round and the area is colourful with lovely flowers, pine trees and green orchards. Being situated over 1460 metres above sea-level, Taunggyi is ideal for holiday-makers during the summer. The road south will lead you to the unique Kakku sight of 2000 stupas in Pa-O village. The Fire Balloon Festival held annually at the full moon of Tazaungmon in November is not to be missed.
Kalaw, a beautiful hill station surrounded by pine trees and forests has stand high on the western edge of the Shan Plateau. This was a popular hill station in the British days and it is still a peaceful and quiet place. At an altitude of 1320 m it is also pleasantly cool and a good place for hiking, bamboo groves and rugged mountain scenery. You can make interesting excursions around Kalaw. There are several interesting hill tribe villages in the area including the Palaung and Pa-O tribes. The main attraction of Kalaw are the town itself, with its mock-tutor colonial bungalows, its ethnic mix of people, and it's setting within trekking distance of many ethnic minority villages.
About 45 Kilometers from Kalaw is Pindaya. It is a peaceful town famous for its caves in which thousands of centuries-old Buddha images are seated. The road from Kalaw to Pindaya passes through Pa-O villages and countryside of magnificent scenic beauty. Pindaya is also known for the Shan paper and monk umbrella makers.
Sittwe, formerly called Akyab is the capital of Rakhine State. It is situated along the narrow coastal region to the west of Myanmar in Rakhine State. It has a long coasting bordering on the Bay of Bengal. Culture and traditional heritage and colourful Rakhine races are filled in Sittwe. Sights worth seeing in Sittwe included Atulamarazein Pyilon Chan Tha Pagoda, Kyayoke, Mahakuthala Monastery, Adeilhtim Sima, the Buddha Museum and the Rakhine State Cultural Museum. There are a view point to be enjoy along the coast. Regular flights from Yangon to Sittwe takes about 30 minutes. It is also the gate way to Mauk U, an ancient city of Rakhine Kings.
Also known as Dannyawady, is located up the Kaladan River, about 80 km north of Sittwe, the present day capital of Rakhine State . There are many ancient cultural works and the pride of Rakhine State. Unlike the temples of Bagan, the temples in Mrauk-U are constructed with stones rather than the traditional bricks in a truly unique style. It is another historical treasure after Bagan. The remaining archaeological monuments are of different sizes and various types which overwhelm the landscape of the city Mruak U. The legendary Shittaung Pagoda, ordination halls and tattooed Chin women are some of the highlights in Mrauk-U. Even the pagodas are strategically located on hilltops and look like fortresses and indeed they are once use as such in times of enemy intrusion. Mrauk U can reach from Sittway through a very pleasant river journey about 4 hours. If travel in the winter, one can see flocks of wild geese, ducks and other migrating waterfowls.
Natmataung, also known as Mt. Victoria is situated in the Chin Hills which forms a southward extension of the Himalayas into Southeast Asia. The elevation has 3400 meter and it is the highest peak in Chin state. Mindat is a small town at the base of Mt. Victoria and has simple accommodation. The true heart of traditional Chin culture is found in this area and Chin ethnic tribes with tattooed faces can be observed in nearby tribal villages around Mt. Victoria. Besides mountaineering this is the best place for hiking to nearby villages to see the local life and bird watching. It has an area of 432 acres well-preserved by the forestry department. It is 174 km from Bagan by jeep and roads are still very bad so this excursion is not recommended for rainy season ( May to Oct ). The region is opened to tourists recently. A special permission is needed in going around that area and has to pre arranged well in advance.
Kyaing Tong is the capital city of the Golden Triangle Region. It is situated in the Eastern Shan State, 452 km in the east of Taunggyi and 176 km from Tachileik, the town at the border of the Thailand. It can be accessed by plane from Yangon as well as from Thailand by crossing the border line via Tachilek. Kyaing Tong is a land for those searching for ethnic and tribal value. Its market is always busy with colorful hill tribes. In the vicinity of Kyaing Tong, there are villages resided by minor ethnic groups such as Gon, Lwe, Li, Wa, Lah Hu, Thai Nay, Shan, Li Shaw and Akar. So one can feel the atmosphere of traditions, cultures and life styles of these tribes which are still unspoiled by the modern facilities.
Myitkyina is the capital of Kachin State and is set in a broad valley surrounded by the northern hills of Myanmar. It is also the place where the famous Myanmar's principle river, the Ayeyarwaddy originates. Myitkyina is ethnically diverse and different tribes of national races live in harmony with their own cultures, customs, dialects, dances and lifestyles. Kachin, Bamar and Shan form a majority together with a few Chinese and Indians. We can also visit Indawgyi Lake, jade mines of Hpakant, and Myit-son - the very start of the legendary Ayeyarwaddy River and we can see a number of hill tribes in the Myitkyina market. Another fascination in Myitkyina is the Manaw ritual when the all ethnics minority dance uniformly circling the pillars erected in the field.
Puta-O is the starting point for Myanmar's most adventurous trekking adventures .Which is situated in Kachin State and surrounded by snow-capped mountains. It is Myanmar's northernmost town with cold weather the whole year round and there are many varieties of citrus fruits grown in the orchards. People of the Rawan, Lisu, Khamti-Shan, Jingphaw and Kachin are represented in the region. It is the nearest town to the base camp for Climbing Mt. Khakhaborazi (5889 meters), which is the highest mountain in Myanmar and in Southeast Asia. Overnight hiking trips to nearby villages and subtropical evergreen and rainforests offer visitors a very unique view of the northern frontier.
Ngapali is one of the most beautiful beaches in Myanmar and located on the west coast of Myanmar facing the Indian Ocean. The beach stretches for over 3 km long and is unrivaled with its clear water, white sand bank, swaying coconut forest and the air free form smoke of industries. There are only natural scenic beauty of the blue sea, white sand and the lovely sun. The sea has no dangerous marine animals, clean and clear with gentle waves. The people can also fish, swim, ride on a horse back, and purchase at the souvenir shops along the bank. Fishing boats can be hired for trips to some of the islands off the coast or just for fishing at nearby reefs. There is an 18- hole Golf Course, located 15 minutes drive from the beach. Ngapali can be reach by flight from Yangon. By overland, 14 hour drive along the narrow winding road over the Rakhine Yoma (mountain range) after crossing the Ayeyarwaddy River at Pyay.
Ngwe Saung beach is latest beach resort in Myanmar. It is newly opened beach about 48 km from Pathein. The beach stretches 15km along the coast with delightful palm swaying breeze from the Bay of Bengal. With its sandy shore free of mud and clay, transparent and clean seawater, pretty islands nearby and rows of palm trees is really attraction for beach lovers. Ngwe Saung can be reached by car from the capital Yangon in approximately seven hours drive. The journey takes travelers on a partly bumpy and pot-holed road across the Ayeyarwaddy Delta region. There are newly constructed bungalows with local flavour but equipped with modern facilities.
Chaung-Thar Beach is located 40 km to the west of Pathein in Ayeyarwaddy Division. It is about 7 hours drive from Yangon via Pathein. The beach curves inwards in the shape of a crescent stretching for nearly a mile. Visitors can sightseeing in the neighboring villages for study fishing industry and the livelihood of the local people. Chaung Thar beachs is mostly travel by local visitor among the three beachses, Ngapali and Ngwesaung. It is recommended for the person who would like to enjoy the lively Beach.
Kyaikhtiyo Pagoda, which known to the world as Golden Rock is located about 160 km from Yangon and the famous domestic pilgrimage centre in Myanmar. It stands on a gilded boulder precariously perched on the edge of the hill over 1100 meters above sea-level. There are many legends about the pagoda and Nat (Spirit) shrines along the way from the base camp to the pagoda. It is a test of one's endurance to reach the pagoda. There is also a popular belief that a person gains in wealth every time he climbs the hill. The season of pilgrimage is from October to May. Open truck can now reach up to the platform of the pagoda. It can also reached by trekking from the base camp. Porters and palanquins are available to carry luggage and pilgrims who are too old or weak.


text:
Typos in Baha'i scripture
Postby Irish » Thu Nov 23, 2006 3:47 pm
I would like to know if anyone has detected any small spelling mistakes, or other similar typing errors, in the (current) published versions of Baha'i scripture. It would be helpful for us to take note of these, so that they can be corrected in future editions. The problem I have is that whenever I see something that I think is wrong, I never know if someone else has already seen, or whether I should tell someone else about.
Anyway, here are a few things I've spotted. Look at these two quotations:
"Beware, beware," is His significant warning addressed to Vahíd, "lest in the days of His Revelation the Vahíd of the Bayán (eighteen Letters of the Living and the Báb) shut thee out as by a veil from Him, inasmuch as this Vahíd is but a creature in His sight." -GPB pg29
"Beware, beware lest, in the days of His Revelation, the Vahíd of the Bayán (eighteen Letters of the Living) shut thee not out as by a veil from Him, inasmuch as this Vahíd is but a creature in His sight. And beware, beware that the words sent down in the Bayán shut thee not out as by a veil from Him." -ESW pg153
The quotation from the GPB makes good sense to me. The one from ESW has an extra "not" in it. The "not", although but one word, reverses the meaning.
Next one is in Arabic, and, to my dismay, in the Kitab-i-Aqdas. I've only a smattering of Arabic so I may be mistaken here, but this perplexes me. Paragraph 84 reads: "How great the blessedness that awaiteth the king who will arise to aid My Cause in My kingdom, who will detach himself from all else but Me! Such a king is numbered with the companions of the Crimson Ark—the Ark which God hath prepared for the people of Bahá. All must glorify his name, must reverence his station, and aid him to unlock the cities with the keys of My Name, the omnipotent Protector of all that inhabit the visible and invisible kingdoms".
The first phrase in the final sentence is "All must glorigy his name". The Arabic word in my copy of the Aqdas is "ya3azzaruhu", where "3" represents the Arabic letter 3ayn (as in 3abdu'l). As far as I know, "ya3azzaruhu" means "to censure him, to rebuke him". And, as far as I know, the Arabic word "ya3azzazuhu" means "to glorify him". In the Arabic, the difference between " ya3azzaruhu " and "ya3azzazuhu" is just a single dot, which makes the ra' become a za'. If anyone can tell me that I'm wrong, I would love to hear from you.
I'm by no means saying that these thing are mistakes and that I know what they should say. All I'm saying is that, ignorant as I am, they appear to me to be mistakes and that I would dearly love to be enlightened regarding them.
A.K.A. Irish
Postby brettz9 » Thu Nov 23, 2006 11:53 pm
While I agree that there is good reason for us to keep track of errata here also (though I'd suggest a more descriptive forum topic title, so as not to be confused with a thread dealing with perceived mistakes within the Bahá'í teachings), you really should notify the Publishing Trust as they keep track of this information (for the sake of corrections in future printings) and have the ability to correct it. In the process, they might also help you (in case you understood it wrong--though don't second-guess yourself too much--errata are possible!).
Postby Irish » Fri Nov 24, 2006 5:43 am
Hi Brett,
I changed the topic title to "Typos in Baha'i scripture". Hopefully that is a better description of what I want to discuss here.
I would write to the publishing trusts, but I'd like to collect a few things before a write a email to them. Also, I'd like if the scholars in this forum would be able to determine whether these are in fact mistakes first. If they can't, then I'll go the publishers. I don't want to write to the Research Department about it, because I'm sure that in most cases my understanding is at fault, not the publications themselves.
majnun
Contact majnun
Postby majnun » Fri Nov 24, 2006 8:44 pm
Dear Irish;
The study of arabic and persian is fascinating
for us westerners. Sometimes when the original
text is re-typed from manuscripts, typing errors occurs
or some conventions are not respected, like putting
a "ya" with two dots at the end of a word, etc.
Keep in mind that early English translations from
the 1900's were not at the satisfaction of Thornton Chase,
who heard the Dreyfuss / Chirazi work was better
than what dr Ali Kuli Khan presented to him for publication.
Details about the comparisons of translations made by
Thornton Chase and Ethel J. Rosenberg, before they
were published in English, can be found in the Thornton Chase papers,
and in the minutes of the CHICAGO HOUSE OF SPIRITUALITY RECORDS, easy to find on the web.
Good luck in your work,
Postby Irish » Wed Jan 03, 2007 3:49 pm
Here is something else I cannot understand. In the Tablet of the Proof (Lawh-i-Burhaan, Lawhu'l-Burhaan) the following words occur;
"Its calamities waxed so great that the smoke thereof surrounded the Land of Mystery and its environs, and what had been revealed in the Tablet of the Sultán was made manifest. Thus hath it been decreed in the Book, at the behest of God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting." (TBKA, pg. 213)
In the English version, this is the end of a paragraph. The next line is "O My Supreme Pen! Leave Thou the mention of the Wolf...".
However, in the Arabic original, there is another sentence in between, which goes, "'Annaa lillaahi wa 'annaa 'ilaihi raaji'uuna" (Majmuih-yi-Alvah ba'd az kitab-i-aqdas, page 131). This could be translated as "we belong to God and unto Him do we return". I cannot understand why it isn't translated in the English version. I'm guess it's a purposeful omission, because it's hard to believe it's a type-O.
Has anyone noticed something similar elsewhere?
a suggestion
Postby majnun » Thu Jan 04, 2007 10:05 pm
let me try a suggestion;
In our weekly reunions, many members
are from arabian or persian origins, and most
of them will help you gladly in your search.
Postby Irish » Fri Jan 05, 2007 2:54 pm
Just another comment similar to my previous one: The opening words of the English translation of the Tablet of Hikmat are "This is an Epistle which the All-Merciful hath sent down from the Kingdom of Utterance." But the original Arabic has a few words right at the beginning, which could be translated as "In His name, the Unique, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise". Again, can't understand why these words have been left out in the English...
Dorumerosaer
Contact Dorumerosaer
Re: Type-O's in Baha'i scripture
Postby Dorumerosaer » Sat Jan 06, 2007 10:17 am
>>The first phrase in the final sentence is "All must glorify his name". The Arabic word in my copy of the Aqdas is "ya3azzaruhu", where "3" represents the Arabic letter 3ayn (as in 3abdu'l). As far as I know, "ya3azzaruhu" means "to censure him, to rebuke him". And, as far as I know, the Arabic word "ya3azzazuhu" means "to glorify him". In the Arabic, the difference between " ya3azzaruhu " and "ya3azzazuhu" is just a single dot, which makes the ra' become a za'. If anyone can tell me that I'm wrong, I would love to hear from you.>>
The verb used by Baha'u'llah is indeed "ya3azziruhu", where "3" represents the Arabic letter 3ayn (as in 3abdu'l)., in other words the verb with the R not the z. The construction used by Baha'u'llah is exactly as in the Qur'an.
Sura 48:9:
لتؤمنوا بالله ورسوله وتعزروه وتوقروه وتسبحوه بكرة واصيلا
Litu/minoo biAllahi warasoolihi watuAAazziroohu watuwaqqiroohu watusabbihoohu bukratan waaseelan
In order that ye (O men) may believe in God and His Messenger, that ye may assist and honour Him, and celebrate His praise morning and evening.
The Qur'anic verb is exactly the same namely tuAAazziroohu = , that ye may assist. The same verb occurs in sura 5:12 waAAazzartumoohum = honour and assist them, and again in 7: 157.
So I have learned that the Aqdas usage is in absolute agreement with these three Qur'anic references.
Postby Irish » Sat Jan 06, 2007 5:50 pm
Excellent Brent, that is certainly worth pondering upon.
What about the verse in the Long Obligatory Prayer, which goes: "Thy love, O my Lord, hath enriched me, and separation from Thee hath destroyed me, and remoteness from Thee hath consumed me." It's in the verse to be said standing staight after the first sitting down. The first phrase in Arabic is "Hubbuka adnaanii" where d is for the letter daad not daal. This literally means "Thy love hath made me weak". Is this a Qur'anic usage also?
Postby Dorumerosaer » Wed Jan 10, 2007 1:26 am
>>What about the verse in the Long Obligatory Prayer, which goes: "Thy love, O my Lord, hath enriched me, and separation from Thee hath destroyed me, and remoteness from Thee hath consumed me." It's in the verse to be said standing staight after the first sitting down. The first phrase in Arabic is "Hubbuka adnaanii" where d is for the letter daad not daal. This literally means "Thy love hath made me weak". Is this a Qur'anic usage also?>>
The more common usage of this verb based on the root DNW does mean "weakened me." However, as you know, Arabic is an extremely rich and complex language when you get into these verb changes.
I have been informed that there is another form of this verb which means "enriched me." In E.W. Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon, on page 1807 of Volume 5 it is stated that it also means "increase" "augment" or "enrich."
Permit me to suggest that you keep in mind that Baha'u'llah had a comprehensive mastery of Arabic. Shoghi Effendi, who translated His Writings, also enjoyed a firm grasp of that language, and not only grew up in an environment where Arabic was often spoken; also, while at Oxford he was tutored by the finest scholars and translators in the British Empire.
I wish to make a suggestion. While it is of some interest to note these matters; I wish to suggest that reciting the Long Obligatory Prayer accompanied by the postures, said with heart and sincerity, will do far more to help you to gain an appreciation of the fact that Baha'u'llah draws the human soul to God, and is Who He claims to be. I submit for your consideration that perhaps these questions are not going to bring you closer to that goal. Rather, taking the medicine and seeing if it works -- that's the real test.
I regret that we must communicate by e-mail. My message may come across as abrupt. If we met over coffee, we could better convey these spiritual realities, but we must deal with the limitations of the medium.
If you recite that prayer with fervor, and compare your spiritual state before and after -- then you will know who Baha'u'llah is.
As Baha'u'llah wrote: " . . . the long Obligatory Prayer should be said at those times when one feeleth himself in a prayerful mood. In truth, it hath been revealed in such wise that if it be recited to a rock, that rock would stir and speak forth; and if it be recited to a mountain, that mountain would move and flow. Well is it with the one who reciteth it and fulfilleth God's precepts."
(From the compilation on the Salat http://tinyurl.com/y6xgxt )
Postby Irish » Wed Jan 17, 2007 4:50 am
In E.W. Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon, on page 1807 of Volume 5 it is stated that it also means "increase" "augment" or "enrich."
Thank you. My university has that lexicon. I will use it in future.
Permit me to suggest that you keep in mind that Baha'u'llah had a comprehensive mastery of Arabic.
I do recite it with fervour. And I know who Baha'u'llah is- I joined the Faith six years ago.
I wish to suggest that reciting the Long Obligatory Prayer accompanied by the postures, said with heart and sincerity, will do far more to help you to gain an appreciation of the fact that Baha'u'llah draws the human soul to God, and is Who He claims to be. I submit for your consideration that perhaps these questions are not going to bring you closer to that goal."
I appreciate that. But I am involved in teaching the Faith to Arab speakers living in Ireland. Native Arab speakers have read "hubbuka adnaanii" and asked me why it is translated "Thy love hath enriched me", because they never heard it used in that sense before. But they all also say to me that they don't object to the translation because they themselves, even native Arabic speakers who are not Baha'is yet, know that Baha'u'llah has a mastery of Arabic and that frequently in Arabic words carry significations vastly different from their usual one/ones.
I'm just an seeker after knowledge who comes here to learn. I am grateful to you for sharing your knowledge with me, Brent. Thank you very much.
Postby Irish » Mon Jan 29, 2007 4:16 pm
"...I beseech Thee, by Thy treasured Name Who, at this very moment, is speaking, to send down..." (Baha'u'llah, Prayers and Meditations, Extract. no. 44, page 65)
The printed Arabic version goes like: "asaluka bismika'l-mahzuuni'l-ladii..." (Baha'u'llah, Munaajaa, Extract no. 44, page 49)
Comment: In Arabic "maHzuun" means sorrowful or grieved, not treasured.
However, "makhzuun" means treasured.


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Peter Ackroyd was born in London in 1948, went to a Catholic School - St Benedicts - in the city and in 1968 was excepted at Clare College, Cambridge, where he studied English Literature. He graduated with double first class honours and in 1971 travelled to Yale University as a Mellon Fellow. After his return to Britain in 1973, Ackroyd became the youngest ever Literary Editor of the Spectator, at which post he remained until he became Managing Editor of the magazine in 1977. He resigned from The Spectator in 1981 in order to take a career as a full-time writer.
Ackroyd has won the Somerset Maugham Prize (1984) for The Last Testament of Oscar Wilde, the Guardian Fiction Award (1985) and the Whitbread Prize for the Best Novel (1986) for Hawksmoor, the Memorial Prize. His novel Chatterton was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1987.
His most recent books include best-selling biographies of Dickens (1990), Blake (1995) and Thomas More (1998), and the novels The Plato Papers (1999), Milton in America (1996) and Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem (1994). Last year his hugely acclaimed biography of a city, London, was published and is still riding high in the best-seller lists.
Peter Ackroyd's first play for the theatre, The Mystery of Charles Dickens performed by Simon Callow, toured the UK last Spring and came into the West End at the end of August running through until January 2001. The Mystery of Charles Dickens will now run from the 8th to the 13th of October at the Gaiety Theatre for the eircom Dublin Theatre Festival 2001.
Peter Ackroyd is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Apart from his work as a novelist and biographer, he is a chief reviewer for The Times. He lives in Islington.


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nuts, up to 1 cup chopped nuts or your choice, opt.
Put your butter and honey in a small sauce pan over medium heat and stir it until the butter melts and is blended nicely with the honey. While this is warming, mix your pop corn and nuts in a large bowl. Pour your melted butter/honey mixture over the popcorn and mix well. Spread this out on a cookie sheet in a thin layer and bake at 350 for 10 to 15 minutes or until crisp.


text:
What Gives An Organ Its Essential Character?
By Vox Humana,
January 11, 2007 in Nuts and bolts
David Coram 0
David Coram
I believe therefore, that it is the "in-house" tonal-style concept which is the dominant factor; especially if one were a blind, non-organist, listening in the pews.
yet if one were to change the console and discard the organ case, a Father Willis or an Arthur Harrison would sound much the same...
...new pipework added from local organ-builders: in reality probably coming from the same pipe-makers and voicing source.
The first quoted sentence I agree with. The rest are quibbles, but here they are anyway...
The second I don't; the case has much (or SHOULD have much) to do with the way the organ sounds, and the console of course affects how it is used by the player.
The third quoted sentence I'm unsure about - pipework may only come from a limited number of sources, but surely the voicing is down to the installer.
I'm not so much quibbling with detail as to point out that it's the detail - case, action, winding, everything - that makes the organ sound the way it does to a blind man in the pews, and ultimately makes the experience for the player.
Vox Humana 10 posts
David Coram 10 posts
MusingMuso 0
MusingMuso
Location:Keighley, W.Yorks
Or the same voicer/finisher?
Not really - on the occasions I have bought new pipework it has been delivered unvoiced. Most voicing in my experience is done on site, which is the only place it is totally possible to understand the job the pipes have to do.
I have thus far avoided answering this question, because I am not quite sure what 'Vox' is searching for in the answers.
I think my question was by nature rather open since I did not have any specific answer in mind. The various replies have all made for very interesting reading - whichever tangent they have followed!
The question really was no more than "What is it that makes a Willis, a Hill, a Cavaillé-Coll or a Schnitger organ a Willis, Hill, Cavaillé-Coll or a Schnitger?"
Weren't most of Arp Schnitger's instruments rebuilds of earlier organs, or have I got that totally wrong? In any case, many of them have been hacked about subsequently. If an Ahrend comes along and puts one back as near as possible to its original conception, how legitimate is it to go on calling it a Schnitger? Is historical sentiment getting the better of us? Is there a point where it would be more honest to call it an Ahrend? What should be the deciding factor? The sound? Or is there more to it?
I said that I thought that the sound was the most important characteristic and most respondents seem to agree, yet David makes a very important point: "it's the detail - case, action, winding, everything - that makes the organ sound the way it does to a blind man in the pews, and ultimately makes the experience for the player."
If you visit Portsmouth Dockyard you can have a guided tour of Nelson's flagship, HMS Victory. Or can you? When your guide tells you that not one original piece of wood from Nelson's time remains, aren't you going to start wondering whether the ship really is kosher?
I'm beginning to think the answer is not so simple after all.
No more than? Wow! That's quite a question. Willis had a very strong personality, he was a good organist and built what he felt people wanted. Hill was obviously a good listener and a good servant, to the extent that he wrestled with new musical concepts, and almost created a very worthy style of British organ. Cavaille-Coll stands unique, in that what you got was what he created, and absolutely without compromise. The Schnitgers, father and son, followed tradition, used whatever salvageable bits they could, and applied a special genius to the voicing of the finished product.
I think the exact details of their scaling and voicing methods would only serve to tell us that they all had great personal integrity and maintained the highest standards. All would approach their individual assigngments by re-interpreting what they knew from the past, so Willis would call upon the history of Gray & Davison, and others upon the sources of their own knowledge and abilities.
Perhaps what makes them remarkable is that astonishing forward vision, which set out to create something beautiful over a period of time and in which they succeeded better than the majority.
Weren't most of Arp Schnitger's instruments rebuilds of earlier organs, or have I got that totally wrong?
You are absolutely correct about Schnitger organs. A few were wholly new, like the one built for the Academy Kerk, Groningen, but I believe the majority incorporated older pipework. The whole Schnitger tradition tells of a slow metamorhpic transition from one style to the next, with a very recognisable pedigree.
It is my belief that someone like Ahrend is so special and so rare, his artistry is such that it deserves to be heard and represented for all time. A trip to the Martinikerk, Groningen would convince anyone of this, for it is absolutely the equal of anything Schnitger ever achieved, and personally, I am both awed and moved by the fact that one man can bridge the passing of three centuries so perfectly, and get into the mind of the person he so obviously reveres. It is quite simply oran-building artistry at its highest level.
I can tell the board members something interesting. I have sat listening to Buxtehude, Bach and Bruhns (et al) in England, and I have rarely been moved. I have wept at recitals in Holland, in the company of others who do the same, and I believe it is because of that astonishing combination of the right organs, the right performers and the right ambience. For whatever reason, there is something in the character of the best Netherlands organists which is both humble, yet at the same time, musically aristocratic. They are often very considerable scholars certainly, and whilst I have been entertained by Americans, awed by the technical brilliance of French or English performers, it is back to Holland that I am drawn every time, simply because of the sheer musical-depth of what I hear and see.
Working in that sort of ethos, is it any surprise that in the Netherlands, organ-restoration is taken so seriously and executed so magnificently?
PS: I've just realised that I have been listening to Rachmaninov playing his own works as I have written this.
Not a bad pianist....not bad at all in fact!
Guest Cynic
I agree with virtually everything in MM's post above. For some reason, the board technology this morning won't allow me to quote it!
I have a slightly different answer to Vox's 'big question'.
When you listen to a good organ, whether by any single builder, or a mass of different builders like Leeds Parish Church, what an experienced ear will recognise immediately is the 'rightness' or logic of it all, notably the internal balances and refinements. Stops are not just attractive in themselves, but they relate coherently to the whole.
A fine organ needs not just a sensible stoplist, but a voicer with excellent ears and patience. However, everyone's ears are different, so a Diapason voiced by Renatus Harris is bound to sound different from one by Bernard Smith, David Frostick's would be different from Peter Hopps'. A close analogy is the training of treble voices: David Hill's boys will sound different from Christopher Robinson's because a different ideal sound is in their imagination and they work hard to see that this ideal is achieved. The point is: a good Diapason can still be a good Diapason without being like every other one you have ever heard. A 'house style' or an expert voicer common to many instruments is likely to make the work of a firm pretty recognizeable. Scalings etc. are, of course, all part and parcel of the house style. The builder is bound to favour scales that 'work' for them!
As he begins his career, young Mr.Henry Willis is surrounded by old organs that require his attention. Sometimes (not very often) he incorporates the older material because this is what his customers have asked him to do. However, he knows that his precious reputation is for uncommonly majestic and rich sounds, and often the elderly pipes he is forced to work with will simply not give the firm, clear foundation that his prize-winning reeds demand. 'In for a penny' he thinks, and rather than have well-worn, fragile and thin-sounding pipes letting the side down, from his own resources he just replaces them. It's not a surprising policy.
By the time young Arthur Harrison is brought in to modernize FHW organs, he finds (in many cases) that there is little to improve in the Willis ranks that are already there. However, his ear tells him that these Willis organs are all very large and fine, but some of the choruses lack proper foundation tone - so in almost every case, he adds 8' Diapason work, redressing the balance. In the case of pipes that are too bright or too brash, he has his voicer go over them. A lot can be done through patient re-regulation. By the time he finishes, the organ sounds like a Harrison & Harrison no matter which factory actually made the pipes to start with.
Where you find an organ with several old ranks worked seamlessly in, this will be because either these stops have been throughly respected (perhaps by the organist who forbids them to be changed) or because the builder has fined them over. [Or both, of course!]
A classic case (which really surprised me when I first played it) is Halifax Parish Church. For anyone who doesn't know this organ, on paper it is the typical H&H of nearly 100 years ago. All the expected stops are there. When you drawn the elegant H&H stopknobs, however, you are in for a suprise: these choruses are uncommonly musical - actually a lot of them are old Snetzler stops - and they sound as if they are speaking on quite a low pressure. I remember reading some correspondence in one of our trade journals twenty or thirty years ago where this instrument was decried as just another big romantic heap - it's not!
In Lawrence Elvin's book on H&H, one of the men working on a famous restoration is asked
'I assume that you will be revoicing everything?' The answer he was given was, 'when we find perfection, we leave it alone'. What a good policy... and how sensible to realise that there could be such a thing as a perfect stop!
I play an organ on which the Rohrflute is so beautiful, I would take an axe to the person who tried to "improve" it. I'm glad I've got that out of the way........
Moving swiftly on, I once got (possibly from the same chap to whom Lawrence Elvin spoke), THE most withering look from a Harrison man.
I looked at the beautifully re-leathered reservoirs at St.George's Chapel, Windsor as they were carrying out work to the organ, and said, "In this day and age, you could use a couple of plastic-welded flanges, a few lengths of bendy-tube and a large plastic bag to do the same job."
His reply was memorable, "Indeed Sir, but it wouldn't be QUITE Harrison & Harrison would it?"
I suppose there is such a thing as "improvement" and such a thing as "restoration," but I suspect that "innovation" is rightly frowned upon by those who know the meaning of "respect."
MusingMuso described how the sound of different organs do, or don't, move him and others to tears.
I know what he means, though in my case the latter experience is much more common than the former. If only we could put our finger on what it is that provides that very rare magic "je ne sais quoi" that pushes us over the edge and brings a lump to the throat and a tear to the eye! Whatever it is, if someone could capture and bottle it, they would make their fortune.
VH may recall my comparing two cathedral organs, which we both know well, in automotive terms. One of them seems to me like a Ferrari or a Porsche: fine craftsmanship, superbly engineered, but very noisy and brash - no trace of subtlety. It only begins to sound thrilling from a distance of about half a mile, e.g. when we are singing around the High Altar at the end of the 5:00am Easter Vigil. The other gives me the impression of an elegant silver vintage Rolls-Royce, purring gently even when going flat out. Hit Swell piston 8 and you feel a catch in the throat as the large Open Wood and the 32ft Violone kick in. Add the Great reeds at the end of Coll Reg and you still won't drown the choir. Drool....
Does anyone else understand what I'm getting at, or am I way off the wall??
I do know which organs you mean and I quite agree! But I do think that your brash, noisy one is - like a Ferrari or a Porsche - pretty damned exciting at full belt.
I cannot now recall which two organs were mentioned. However, the second instrument above sounds like Exeter. It has an Open Diapason (of wood - unless the implication of 'large' is that there was also a 'small' Open Wood) It also has a 32p Contra Violone. The reference to hitting Swell piston eight and the large Open Wood and the 32p Violone kicking in would imply the presence of a combination coupler almost unique to H&H: Pedal to Swell Pistons (which always gives different Pedal combinations than those set on the normal Pedal pistons). The only other instance of this known to me, which was not supplied by H&H is at Chichester Cathedral. However, in this case, it was specifically requested by Dr. Alan Thurlow, who had encountered this extremely useful device several years before - on a well-known Harrison organ. He was formerly Sub Organist of Durham Cathedral from 1973 - 1980.
However, I would be interested to know the identites of both instruments, please.
No names, no pack drill!
Uh.... just a minute there, Vox - you were the one who broke your own rule first....
I can always post some more nettles to you if you have run out of local supplies.
One of them seems to me like a Ferrari or a Porsche: fine craftsmanship, superbly engineered, but very noisy and brash - no trace of subtlety. It only begins to sound thrilling from a distance of about half a mile, e.g. when we are singing around the High Altar at the end of the 5:00am Easter Vigil. The other gives me the impression of an elegant silver vintage Rolls-Royce, purring gently even when going flat out. Hit Swell piston 8 and you feel a catch in the throat as the large Open Wood and the 32ft Violone kick in. Add the Great reeds at the end of Coll Reg and you still won't drown the choir. Drool....
In a strange sort of way, this could serve as an epitaph to the errors of the "Bach to baroque" movement.
I recall a rather nicely made instrument by Philip Wood (the father of David Wood who did Blackburn). The voicing was fine, except that one could almost accompany a full house on just the Great Gedackt. Flat out, it was totally unsubtle, as if "open foot" equated to "open exhausts" on a Ferrari....an excuse to make a hell of din.
What always impresses me about the genuine articles in the Netherlands, is the fact that so many very old instruments are wonderfully subtle, and never seem to exceed the appropriate level of sheer noise for the building in which they are in.
Alkmaar looks as if it should be a really big sound, but with the full pleno and pedal reeds, it is not at all overpowering, even though it comfortably fills the building. The same is true of Zwolle, Haarlem, Groningen, Rotterdam and Utrecht (etc etc). Even small churches with a substantial two-manual in a gallery, never seem overloud. One suspects that this type of really good voicing, is the product of almost infinite patience, and possibly the sweetest flute sounds one will ever hear.
If DHM is referring to that richly decorated building after one turns right at Somerset, then I too share that delight in an organ which has always impressed me by the subtle quality of the sound in the building. I think that is also true of that very famous modern instrument in Lancashire, which David Briggs likes so much.
Of course, we now live in a noisier world, and perhaps that is a reason for the big sound of so many instruments. Perhaps people are afraid of silence or quieter sounds nowadays.
So much for organs, but if anyone has a Porsche or Ferrari they don't like............I do.
mgp 0
Location:Herts
<Deleted>
The reference to hitting Swell piston eight and the large Open Wood and the 32p Violone kicking in would imply the presence of a combination coupler almost unique to H&H: Pedal to Swell Pistons (which always gives different Pedal combinations than those set on the normal Pedal pistons). The only other instance of this known to me, which was not supplied by H&H is at Chichester Cathedral. However, in this case, it was specifically requested by Dr. Alan Thurlow, who had encountered this extremely useful device several years before - on a well-known Harrison organ. He was formerly Sub Organist of Durham Cathedral from 1973 - 1980.
I agree about their usefulness. Durham had Pedal to Choir and Pedal to Solo couplers as well (dating from 1905). The full name was Pedal and Accompaniment to <div>. They gave a 'solo' combination with suitable accompaniment on another manual and ped. The Ped to Sw and Ped to Ch couplers survived the 1970 rebuild but the Ped to Ch is now Generals on Sw Toes. In some ways they were more use than a general as they only affected parts of the organ, though the Ped to Sw was the most heavily used by far. I can't remember if they were adjustable by any means.
Guest Andrew Butler
I haven't checked NPOR to see if it's still there post-Mander, but the 1907 Walker at Bristol Cathedral had "Pedal Basses to Swell Pistons" which gave suitable pedal to swel combinations. Very useful to my mind, particularly in choir accompaniment.
My now-defunct HNB at St Thomas, Bristol, had a Pedal to Swell Pistons coupler.
I cannot now recall which two organs were mentioned.
They weren't - at least, not in this Forum.
However, the second instrument above sounds like Exeter.
I cannot deny it.
I'll say no more, lest I offend our generous hosts.
My identity, and therefore that of the other instrument, can easily be deduced from my previous posts.
If DHM is referring to that richly decorated building after one turns right at Somerset, then I too share that delight in an organ which has always impressed me by the subtle quality of the sound in the building.
I doubt it - unless it has suddenly had the great good fortune to acquire a full-length 32p Pedal Violone.... Even the Pedal foundations are a little thin; there is a moderate Open Diapason and a Sub Bass - the Geigen is borrowed from the G. O. This is one H&H where the Pedal to Swell Pistons coupler is less useful, due to the lack of gravitas.
http://www.bristol-cathedral.co.uk/2004spec.htm
However, the replacement is also quite useful, as are the other changes and additions to the accessories which were made in 2004.
Following the R&D rebuild of 1976, the organ of St. Peter's Church, Bournemouth acquired two quite useless accessories. At least, I never found a use for them. They were Pedal to Choir Pistons and Pedal to Swell Pistons (in addition to the more usual Great and Pedal Pistons Coupled). However - and here is the rub - whatever settings one selected and set for one piston coupler were also what one got on the other two - it was not possible to set different Pedal combinations. So, if one wished to set quieter Pedal stops to balance the Choir pistons, these combinations would remain the same, regardless of which piston coupler was drawn.
I have to say that I found this to be slightly pointless. This was not the only short-cut which R&D made. They also removed the top twelve pipes of the Cor Anglais (which had formerly enabled this stop to function at 8p pitch in conjunction with the Choir Octave and Unison Off couplers). Apparently, they stated that it was impossible to include this in the design of the new (1976) electric action. I found this to be surprising, since Harry Harrison had managed to incorporate this perfectly well in the original 1914 electric action.
nfortin 0
nfortin
Location:Cheltenham, UK
The late lamented had the typical H&H "Pedal on Swell Pistons" coupler. For choral accompaniment this was far more useful than "Great & Pedal Pistons Combined" because one would rarely get above Great 2, and yet the difference in volume between Swell 1 and Swell 6 (max on this organ) was tremendous. Hence without the "Pedal on Swell Pistons" coupler it would be difficult to adjust the pedal volume appropriately.
Lincoln Cathedral has a Pedal to Swell Pistons as well as a Pedal to Great Pistons - I was often told by my organ teacher there (the Assistant DOM at the time) what a bonus these were for service work along with the generals etc.
ajt 0
ajt
I have to say that I found this to be slightly pointless. This was not the only short-cut which R&D made.
I have never played an R&D instrument which I thought was musical or well made, let alone both.
I know someone was singing the praises of Holy Trinity, Brompton as being a "good" R&D... Are there any others?


The Justice Department submitted a proposed rule this year that concluded bump stocks and similar devices fall within the prohibition on machine guns, making them illegal under federal law.
(KXRM/KCPQ/CNN) - After the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, President Donald Trump vowed to ban bump stocks, which allow semi-automatic weapons to fire rounds much quicker than usual. Now, U.S. officials say the administration is ready to move forward with that ban.
Change is imminent for some gun owners, with sources telling CNN that a new rule the Trump White House wants to implement would require anyone who owns bump stocks to destroy or surrender the devices to authorities within 90 days.
Bump stocks gained national attention last year when a gunman in Las Vegas rigged his weapons with the devices to fire on concertgoers, killing 58 people.
But despite bipartisan backing for a ban, it's been a long process.
Under the Obama administration, officials concluded in 2010 that bump stocks were a weapon accessory and clear from federal regulation.
At Trump's direction, the Justice Department submitted a proposed rule this year that upended the Obama-era interpretation and concluded that bump stocks and similar devices fall within the prohibition on machine guns, making them illegal under federal law.
"Bump stocks turn semiautomatic guns into illegal machine guns. This final rule sends a clear message: Illegal guns have no place in a law-and-order society, and we will continue to vigorously enforce the law to keep these illegal weapons off the street," a senior Justice Department official told CNN.
Not everyone is in favor of the new ban.
"What should be banned is bad people. We, the people, have the right to protect ourselves and our family, even unto the shedding of blood," said gun dealer Kerry Phillips.
Opposition from lawmakers and the National Rifle Association made a regulatory change the only realistic path forward to accomplishing Trump's goal.
"If you're a law-abiding citizen in America and have a clean record, you should be able to own anything you want," said Mel "Dragonman" Bernstein, owner of DragonMan's Gun Range and Shop.
In a 2017 statement, an NRA spokesperson said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives "should review bump-fire stocks to ensure they comply with federal law." But she also said the organization is against stricter gun control legislation that some members of Congress favor.
Copyright 2018 KXRM, KCPQ, Tribune via CNN. All rights reserved.


Life during the Middle Ages was not good: Women were treated miserably, plagues (such as the Black Death) were feared and common, there were innumerable enemies to any given castle or town and the little knowledge about medicine and science that survived from Greece, Rome or Egypt was badly translated.
That's without counting the actual problems that could arise from living in society. It was common to decapitate a thief over some bread or to drown a woman accused of witchery. The way criminals were punished during the Middle Ages varied from town to town, but it was mostly reserved to heavy Torture, decapitation, or imprisonment in either the tallest tower (which was fairly common) or in a heavily-guarded dungeon.
Before castles widely towered throughout Europe, it was fairly easy and common for an enemy to pillage a town overnight. Such raids were mostly reserved for smaller towns where there was no noticeable opposing force. The Vikings were very notorious for doing this during the well-known Viking Era which lasted from 793 to 1066 AD. As it is imaginable, it was terrible to be constantly subject to immense raids. However, it wasn't until the year 1066 when real castles began to appear.
Considering the protection that a castle offered to its inhabitants, it's no wonder that thousand were built. Though their construction took many years, they considerably improved the overall life quality of peasants who were otherwise terrified of yet another invasion.
However, by living in a tightly-secured castle, other problems arose. Most of the time, farmers lived outside while nobles lived inside a castle. The problem with this was hygiene, for farmers had to constantly enter and leave the castle spreading diseases and germs. Nobles rarely took a bath. For example, it is said that King Louis XIV of France only bathed three times during his lifetime!
If it was hard living outside, it was even harder living inside a castle. Though castles offered great protection, they were cold and undesirable. If someone was sick, it was common for him or her to be considered "touched by the Devil" and thus condemned to leave the castle. Additionally, castles relied on exterior farming. Opposed to former villages which under an extreme situation of famine or shortage of water could abandon the place altogether, this wasn't the case for castle inhabitants who usually remained inside until the end.
During times of war when an enemy besieged a castle, life was much harder for those living inside. Enemies usually cut off any water supplies, threw all types of projectiles at the defenders (including rotting bodies to spread diseases) and would not let any food to come in, nor sick people to go out. This is described by many medieval historians as a "nightmare". If the defenders were determined to resist until the end (which was frequently the end) they would kill their horses to drink their blood, kill women and commit many other atrocities just for the sake of survival and resisting a few weeks longer. In less severe cases, when no relief arrived, the defenders usually surrendered and the besiegers would let them walk freely to a neighbor town or castle.
As mentioned in the introduction, medieval health was terrible. If living inside a castle, it was even worse. Early doctors were not really doctors but priests, for they would "heal" the sick with prayer which obviously condemned them even further. In the Late Middle Ages, Health improved notoriously with the creation of the first universities where students could actually learn previous knowledge. Read more about Medieval Health.
During the Middle Ages only the rich could afford to be educated. While some peasants studied, they were very rare. Women were ignored education-wise and they were forced to do as their husband wished.


After beginning her career at English Heritage, the entertainment executive went on to manage events venues Alexandra Palace and the O2 during the London Olympics. Now managing director of Really Useful Theatres, she tells Nick Smurthwaite about embarking on a mission to revitalise the company's grand theatre buildings.
The first big London show Rebecca Kane Burton ever saw was Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with Jason Donovan at the London Palladium in 1991. She loved it so much she saved up her pocket money to see it again – not once, but twice.
Twenty-six years later, she is in charge of the London Palladium, working for Joseph's co-creator, Andrew Lloyd Webber.
As managing director of Really Useful Theatres, it is Kane Burton's job to look after the seven theatres owned in whole or in part by the group: the Palladium, Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Adelphi, Cambridge, Her Majesty's, New London and the Other Palace – formerly the St James Theatre. In addition to maintaining and developing the buildings, she will oversee programming and ticketing, and generate sponsorship deals, reporting to Mark Wordsworth, executive chairman across the two Really Useful companies.
She came to the job in September 2016 not from a theatre background, but as general manager of the O2 and, before that, managing director of Alexandra Palace. "She walked away from the O2 at its peak because she wanted another challenge," says music agent and friend John Giddings.
Kane Burton remained with English Heritage on and off for 10 years, finishing up as director of the London region, one of the organisation's key jobs.
One of the things that attracted her to the job was that she knew it had a gem of a theatre in the East Wing that had fallen into disrepair. The whole East Wing, including the theatre, is currently undergoing a £27 million restoration and is expected to reopen next spring.
Kane Burton made a career move after researchers from the O2 came to Ally Pally to check out her music programming. They returned to North Greenwich with plenty of ideas and a new general manager.
"It was a massive job and I was completely gobsmacked to get it," she says. "From day one, my to-do list included delivering the Olympic Games [events], masterminding a new ticketing system and launching a roof-walk attraction, as well as the day-to-day running of what is effectively a mini city.
Giddings, whose Solo Agency represents some of the world's biggest music acts, saw Kane Burton in action at close hand on many occasions. "I found her brilliant to work with because she'd bend over backwards to help you," he says. "Being in the music business, you get stupid requests from artists all the time, but Rebecca never said, 'Go away.' She would always go the extra mile to try to make it happen.
One of the things she learned from the O2 experience that she has brought to the Really Useful job is that it pays to look outside your own sector and learn from what other people are doing – Kane Burton cites airlines and retail as examples. She feels it was that ability to think outside the box, along with her understanding of what it takes to run a grade-I listed building such Theatre Royal Drury Lane, and her experience of programming from Ally Pally and the O2, that made her a good fit for the job.
How do the two companies – Really Useful Theatres and the Really Useful Group – work together?
Staging picnic concerts at Kenwood House in London.
This one, working for Really Useful Theatres.
Who or what was your greatest influence?
Richard Branson got me thinking about what it takes to create something from nothing.
What do you wish you'd been told when you started out?
Somebody gave me a very good piece of advice just before I started my job at English Heritage that has stayed with me: "Just remember everyone pretends they know what they're talking about." The other thing to remember is that there is no obvious career path – follow your instincts.
If you hadn't been an entertainment executive, what would you have done?
Definitely a journalist or writer of some kind. I love writing.
My former PA gave me a lovely silver bracelet, which I always wear to a board meeting or a presentation.
London's Roundhouse, who will be head of programming at the Palladium.
In terms of musical bookings, Kane Burton and Gaydon are looking at younger, up-and-coming artists as well as the big, arena-filling stars.
One of Kane Burton's biggest challenges will be Haworth Tompkins' £35 million refurbishment of Theatre Royal Drury Lane, the other jewel in Really Useful's crown. The company will submit planning permission for "substantial work" to Westminster Council this September, with the expectation of work starting another 12 to 18 months after that, assuming Westminster approves the proposals.
RUT is in the process of buying the building next door to the Theatre Royal, which will become the new headquarters for the Really Useful Group, currently based in Slingsby Place, also in the West End. When the time comes, the theatre will have to close for an extended period of time. But what is the company proposing to do to this most iconic of London venues?
"I can't talk about the details but there is an opportunity here to open it up more," Kane Burton says. "While these old theatre buildings are undoubtedly grand and imposing, that can sometimes make it difficult for people to want to cross the threshold. The job of their present-day custodians is to make them as accessible as possible. There are lots of different ways of doing that, such as the terrace we've made at the Theatre Royal, overlooking Catherine Street, where you can sit outside on a nice evening and have a glass of champagne without even seeing the show.
Of course, the recent terror attacks in London and Manchester have not helped make audiences feel comfortable or safe. Kane Burton and her colleagues have made security in the Really Useful venues a top priority, bringing in extra security personnel and urging staff to be super-vigilant. "We've also met up with other West End theatre groups and shared intelligence," she says.
A dedicated theatregoer – "I love that sense of anticipation before the show starts" – Kane Burton anticipates that she will be seeing a lot more child-friendly shows in future as she is about to become a mother for the first time. Presumably she will also be taking maternity leave?
Does she believe the old Noel Coward adage about work being more fun than fun?


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