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News > Access to quality and affordable medicines > Fix the Patent Laws campaign > UN report strengthens case for patent law reform in SA and other developing countries
UN report strengthens case for patent law reform in SA and other developing countries
– We urge all governments to urgently adopt and act on UN recommendations to safeguard right to health.
– South Africa must show the way by leading developing countries, especially the BRICS, the SADC and the AU, in adopting and building on the recommendations
JOHANNESBURG, 14th SEPTEMBER 2016: The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and SECTION27 welcome the release of the United Nation Secretary General's High-Level Panel Report on Access to Medicines. This UN report makes a number of important recommendations regarding how society pays for medicines and for the research and development of new medicines. While we welcome several recommendations, they should be viewed as a minimum standard that need to be built upon in order to fully remedy the failures in the current patent system and ensure everyone has access to the medicines they need.
We urge the South African government, and all other governments to engage with the recommendations of the UN High-Level Panel. In particular, we urge the South African Cabinet to urgently discuss the report and consider the adoption of its recommendations. Access to existing medicines and the development of new medicines is literally an issue of life and death for thousands of people. We ask governments to treat it as such and accordingly to give this report the priority attention it deserves. In South Africa, the government has a constitutional duty to take reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to achieve the progressive realisation of the right of access to healthcare services.
Below we highlight some of the key recommendations and their implications:
1. The report recommends that countries make full use of health safeguards available under international law (TRIPS flexibilities). It makes particularly strong recommendations on amending laws to avoid patent ever-greening and to allow for more workable compulsory licensing provisions. These recommendations are in line with the objectives of the Fix the Patent Laws campaign (of which TAC and SECTION27 are members). South Africa has delayed the law reform process to make use of these public health safeguards by over 10 years, despite repeated calls by TAC, SECTION27 and other organisations concerned about public health in South Africa.
We refer to two key recommendations that we urge the South African government to adopt and act on urgently:
"WTO Members should make full use of the policy space available in Article 27 of the TRIPS Agreement by adopting and applying rigorous definitions of invention and patentability that are in the best interests of the public health of the country and its inhabitants. This includes amending laws to curtail the ever-greening of patents and awarding patents only when genuine innovation has occurred."
"Governments should adopt and implement legislation that facilitates the issuance of compulsory licenses. Such legislation must be designed to effectuate quick, fair, predictable and implementable compulsory licenses for legitimate public health needs, and particularly with regards to essential medicines. The use of compulsory licensing must be based on the provisions found in the Doha Declaration and the grounds for the issuance of compulsory licenses left to the discretion of governments."
Unfortunately the report fails to make concrete and actionable proposals to put a stop to all TRIPS plus measures that undermine access to medicines in trade agreements. To properly redress this ongoing threat, governments must build on what is contained in the report and reject all TRIPS plus measures in trade agreements.
2. The report also acknowledges that countries that attempt to use these WTO-approved legal safeguards often face severe pressure from certain developed countries and the pharmaceutical industry. Such an acknowledgement in a UN report is remarkable. The report states as follows:
"Many governments have not used the flexibilities available under the TRIPS Agreement for various reasons ranging from capacity constraints to undue political and economic pressure from states and corporations, both express and implied. Political and economic pressure placed on governments to forgo the use of TRIPS flexibilities violates the integrity and legitimacy of the system of legal rights and duties created by the TRIPS Agreement, as reaffirmed by the Doha Declaration. This pressure undermines the efforts of states to meet their human rights and public health obligations."
Unfortunately the report stops short of recommending bold punitive measures against countries who exercise such undue pressure. Building on the report's recommendation it should be mandated that all UN Member States should reaffirm their commitment to the anti-retaliation principle and sovereignty of WTO Members in complying with TRIPS as reflected in Article 1.1 of the TRIPS Agreement. Unilateral retaliation against countries using or intending to use TRIPS flexibilities should be deemed a violation of the TRIPS Agreement.
3. The report makes important recommendations regarding neglected areas of medical research and recognises that the patent system has failed to incentivise sufficient R&D for diseases like tuberculosis (TB being the infectious disease that currently kills most people on the planet – approximately 1.5 million people per year). It states that "It is imperative that governments increase their current levels of investment in health technology innovation to address unmet needs." The report doesn't just argue for greater investment, but also for changes to the ways in which governments invest. These include ensuring that publicly funded research is licensed on terms more sensitive to public health needs and supporting innovation models such as innovation inducement prizes and the pooling of intellectual property.
4. We welcome the reports strong endorsement of a binding R&D convention or agreement. We consider such a convention to be the most realistic prospect for solving the ongoing crisis of underinvestment in R&D for diseases impacting mostly poor people. It recommends as follows:
"Building on current discussions at the WHO, the United Nations Secretary-General should initiate a process for governments to negotiate global agreements on the coordination, financing and development of health technologies. This includes negotiations for a binding R&D Convention that delinks the costs of research and development from end prices to promote access to good health for all. The Convention should focus on public health needs, including but not limited to, innovation for neglected tropical diseases and antimicrobial resistance and must complement existing mechanisms."
We urge the South African government to take a leading role in the negotiation of and establishment of such a binding R&D convention.
5. The report makes a number of excellent and wide-ranging recommendations regarding R&D transparency. At present pharmaceutical companies share very little information about their R&D spending. This lack of transparency is particularly problematic given the extremely high prices being charged for many new and old medicines. A number of states in the United States are already considering legislation relating to transparency of pharmaceutical R&D and/or price-setting. The report recommends as follows:
"Governments should require manufacturers and distributors of health technologies to disclose to drug regulatory and procurement authorities information pertaining to: (1) the costs of R&D, production, marketing and distribution of health technology being procured or given marketing approval with each expense category separated; and (2) any public funding received in the development of the health technology, including tax credits, subsidies and grants."
We urge legislators in South Africa and all other countries to adopt and act on this recommendation in the interests of public health and to take into account this information for the purposes of price-setting.
It also makes the following welcome recommendations regarding clinical trials transparency. The required legal and/or regulatory steps must urgently be taken to ensure that the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority can implement these recommendations. (TAC is a member of the #AllTrials campaign which advocates for the results of all clinical trials to be made public)
"To facilitate open collaboration, reconstruction and reinvestigation of failures, governments should require that study designs and protocols, data sets, test results and anonymity-protected patient data be available to the public in a timely and accessible fashion. Those undertaking clinical trials must not prevent researchers from publishing their findings."
"Governments should require that the unidentified data on all completed and discontinued clinical trials be made publicly available in an easily searchable public register established and operated by existing mechanisms such as the WHO Clinical Trials Registry Platform, clinical trials.gov or in peer reviewed publications, regardless of whether their results are positive, negative, neutral or inconclusive."
6. The report recognises that health and human rights considerations have often been undermined in the development of trade agreements. The report makes a number of recommendations to help address this imbalance. We recommend that the South African government and all other governments adopt and acts on the following recommendation as soon as possible:
"Governments must review the situation of access to health technologies in their countries in light of human rights principles and States' obligations to fulfil them, with assistance from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and other relevant United Nations entities. The results of these assessments should be made publicly available. Civil society should be financially supported to submit their own shadow reports on innovation and access to health technologies. Such national reviews should be repeated at regular intervals."
While a number of the less ambitious things TAC, SECTION27 and our allies internationally argued for are included in the report, many important proposals in relation to human rights, the failings of the patent system and reform of the IP regime have not been included. In particular we call for urgent discussion within UN forums on a new IP regime for pharmaceutical products that is consistent with international human rights law and public health requirements, while at the same time safeguarding the justifiable rights of inventors. We stand by the submissions we made and endorsed and will continue to advocate for an alternative to the current IP regime that prioritises human rights above all.
We understand that the panel was forced into making certain compromises – some at the last minute. For example we are aware that a minority of panel members rejected at the final hour a recommendation for the near automatic issuance of compulsory licenses on essential health technologies. While these compromises are disappointing, this is not unexpected given that both the multinational pharmaceutical industry and generic medicines industry had representation on the panel and ample opportunity to make submissions to the panel and influence its work. While this has led to some disappointing compromises, it at least shows consensus on the moderate recommendations included. We urge the rapid adoption of these recommendations.
Furthermore, the report opens the door for South Africa and the BRICS countries to build on this momentum and advocate for more fundamental change, including the renegotiation of the TRIPS Agreement. We urge our government to make full use of this window of opportunity.
In February this year TAC and SECTION27 made three submissions to the panel and endorsed an additional four made by partner organisations. We also held a demonstration when the panel visited South Africa for public hearings in March. At that demonstration we handed the panellists the Johannesburg Declaration –a joint declaration by 26 organisations from across the world. Many of the demands of the Johannesburg Declaration has not been met. For more on the shortcomings of the report we urge people to read the commentary by the panellists Jorge Bermudez, Winnie Byanyima and Shiba Phurailatpam (annex 1 to the report).
Demonstration at Department of Trade and Industry on 27th September
We repeat our call for the South African government to engage with this report at all levels and to adopt its recommendations. It is the people who are paying the price for government's ongoing failure to reform our outdated patent laws. While we are aware that an inter-ministerial committee has been established to consider patent law reform, we remain concerned about the lack of buy-in from different government departments and their Ministers. This is a matter that needs to be dealt with at Cabinet level. Delays over the last ten years have shown that law reform that would ensure better access to medicines has not been a priority for government. This indifference from our elected leaders is unacceptable.
On Tuesday 27th September TAC, SECTION27 and partners will protest outside of the South African Department of Trade and Industry in Pretoria. We will ask Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies to explain to us why we are still waiting for law reform 15 years after the signing of the Doha Declaration. We will hand him a copy of the UN report, our comments on a Consultative Framework recently published by the Department of Trade and Industry, and a report from the Fix the Patent Laws campaign to be released that day outlining access challenges on a range of medicines in the country. We invite all concerned people to join us.
The struggle continues.
For media comment contact:
Lotti Rutter | TAC | lotti.rutter@tac.org.za | +27 81 818 8493
Umunyana Rugege | SECTION27 | rugege@section27.org.za | 083 458 5677
Johannesburg Declaration: https://tac.org.za/files/Johannesburg-Declaration-.pdf
Video of picket at the Johannesburg UN High-Level panel hearings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lo1vNNxU_zQ
TAC made the following three submissions to the High Level Panel:
1. A call on all developing countries to fully utilise all the safeguards available in the TRIPS agreement as clarified in the Doha Declaration to ensure public health is protected http://www.unsgaccessmeds.org/inbox/2016/2/28/lotti-rutter (Submission endorsed by AIDS Access Foundation, Thai Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS, FTA Watch, Delhi Network of Positive People (DNP+), ITPC-South Asia and SECTION27)
2. A proposal for linking intellectual property rights on pharmaceutical products to research mandates http://www.unsgaccessmeds.org/inbox/2016/2/27/marcus-low (Submission endorsed by Knowledge Ecology International and SECTION27)
3. A call on the HLP to acknowledge the impact of trade pressure (through mechanisms like the United States 301 Watch List) on the use of TRIPS flexibilities and for the United Nations to do more to support developing countries in utilising TRIPS flexibilities https://highlevelpaneldevelopment.squarespace.com/inbox/2016/2/29/lotti-rutter
We also endorsed the following five submissions:
4. Amy Kapczyynski of the Yale Global Health Partnership on the right to health and access to medicines http://www.unsgaccessmeds.org/inbox/2016/2/28/amy-kapczynski
5. James Love of Knowledge Ecology International on United Nations support for Global R&D agreements http://www.unsgaccessmeds.org/inbox/2016/2/29/james-love
6. James Love of Knowledge Ecology International on measures that can be taken to increase the transparency of markets for medical products https://highlevelpaneldevelopment.squarespace.com/inbox/2016/2/29/james-lovec
7. Professor Brook Baker of Health Global access project on radical reform of global and national intellectual property norms on medical technologies for all health needshttp://www.unsgaccessmeds.org/inbox/2016/2/26/z73kpodxk4jw96mhqe2tivq0sd1g3v
8. Professor Brook Baker of Health Global access project on a compulsory licensing facility/consortium http://www.unsgaccessmeds.org/inbox/2016/2/27/brook-baker


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Javier 'Javi' Muñoz Jiménez (ur. 28 lutego 1995 w Parle) – hiszpański piłkarz występujący na pozycji pomocnika w SD Eibar.

Przypisy

Bibliografia

 Statystyki w bazie BDFutbol
 Statystyki w bazie Futbolme

Hiszpańscy piłkarze
Urodzeni w 1995
Piłkarze Realu Madryt Castilla
Piłkarze Realu Madryt
Piłkarze Lorca FC
Piłkarze Deportivo Alavés
Piłkarze Realu Oviedo
Ludzie urodzeni w Parli

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


I ordered a set of the First Samco M44S handguards for my AR. I'd like to mount a light on them, but have no clue as to which light and mount to buy.
Can a flashlight like a Streamlight Scorpion be used with a pressure pad to lightit?
I'm doing my own searching for this as well. I have an M500, but want a more cost-effective set up, the M44, forward grip, and a mount+surefire or Streamlight. Here's a combo, which allows you to use your thumb: http://www.cmmginc.com/inventory_a/lights_tbl.html i've seen tape switches, but IMO the thumb method seems better.
You can't use a tapeswitch with the Scorpion. My recommendation would be to go with the Surefire G2 Nitrolon because of the adaptability plus it's proven itself. Below is a link which shows how the G2 setup would look - [url]http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=7&f=25&t=173722[/url] Sorry if this sounds like a sales pitch, I'd just like to see you get the most bang for you buck and have future adaptability.
Yes, you can use the KR1 recharge kit and still use the tapeswitch.


text:
The Exterminator, page 2
written by: Sam Costello
art by: Kelly Williams
Tags: body horror, kelly williams, monsters
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Being a member of Extrawest team for almost 2 years, Andriy has represented himself as a decent professional.
Andriy is passionate about learning, improving his craft, and writing maintainable software. He is always interested in challenging projects where he can use his experience to solve unusual tasks.
Implementing bets acceptance flow, cashflow on the PPOS client side. Configuring hardware required for tickets printing. Had been involved in all phases of software development process. Developing end-to-end tests.
Android desktop Point of Sale is a retail terminal which is used on betting sites for performing wagering transactions, cash flow control, and shift management. It is built on the compact hardware that includes high-speed printer, barcode scanner, monitor and computer in one unit. Instant app upgrade is one of the advantages as once an updated application release version is ready, it can be easily downloaded and installed on the device.
Implemented bets acceptance flow, cashflow on the PPOS client side. Configured hardware required for tickets printing. Had been involved in all phases of software development process. Developed end-to-end tests.
Android handheld Point of Sale terminal is used on betting sites for performing wagering transactions, cash flow control, and shift management. This portable POS terminal is equipped with a high-speed printer and barcode scanner. Instant app upgrade is one of the advantages as once an updated application release version is ready, it can be easily downloaded and installed on the device. The application is compatible with all Android versions started from 4.0.


The ratio of rights issue is at 87:38, meaning for every 38 shares held you have the right to buy 87 shares. The issue price is at Rs 12.5 – a massive discount of 56% from current price of Rs 28.5.
The record date for the same is April 2nd 2019. Effectively you will need to buy at least 38 shares on or before 28th March 2019 to be eligible for the rights issue. The bidding for rights issue is between 10th-24th April 2019.
Considering the dominant position of Reliance Jio in the market, Idea is finding it tough to compete. Debt on Ideas books has piled up to Rs 1,23,660 Crs at the end of Dec-18. Idea has paid roughly Rs 7,750 Crs as finance cost in last four quarters. Also the 5g spectrum auction is round the corner. Idea has incurred losses to the tune of Rs 10,700 Cr in last four quarters itself.
Idea plans to pay a part of its debt via rights issue. Post payment of 25,000 Crs towards debt settlement, its outstanding debt will be still at an astounding number of Rs 98,500 Crs. Furthermore Idea will have nearly Rs 20,000 Cr debt maturing before FY21. So chances are it needs more rounds of funding.
The rights issue needs massive subscription (it's bigger than most IPOs!) and the idea of a rights issue is to ensure that promoters participate and a low enough price is offered.
In any case if you are willing to apply for rights issue, below is how you calculate your effective price of buying post allotment of rights.
Assume you have bought 38 shares at todays price of Rs 28.50. Then your effective buy price can be calculated as below.
You will be holding 125 (38 + 87) shares post rights issue, hence each share will cost you approximately 17.364. If the stock price goes below that post record date, then you will be making a loss.
Even if Idea isn't a great investment (it might be, but doesn't look like it) there could be an immediate opportunity in the structuring.
Is There Some Kind of Arbitrage?
There is a small window of opportunity. There is a high likelihood that issue doesn't get fully subscribed. Of the 25,000 cr. the promoters (Birla and Vodafone) will put in about 18,250 cr. but the remaining 6,750 cr. has to come from other investors. That's likely to be undersubscribed.
You can bid for more than your quota too. If there is an undersubscription, you'll get a higher allocation of shares at the Rs. 12.50 price than your share ratio entitles you for.
To be eligible for the rights issue, you need to own at least 38 shares.
Buy 38 shares at current price of 28.50 for a total price of Rs 1,083.
Once you are eligible for rights issue, you can bid rights for how much ever quantity you wish for. Lets say, we bid for 1,000 shares. You'll have to mark a lien of Rs. 12,500 on your bank account.
Assume we get 500 shares (due to undersubscription by others) allotted at Rs 12.50, with a buy value of Rs 6,250.
Now our effective buy value is 1083 (old shares) + 6250 (value of rights issue) = Rs 7,333.
You will be holding 538 shares post rights issue. Thus your effective buy price will be at Rs 13.63.
Assume the price on record date is Rs 28.5, post record date price will adjust to Rs 17.35, if issue gets fully subscribed.
Your effective price being 13.63, you will make a neat Rs 2000. A return of 27.30% on your investment!
This is not risk free, of course, and involves some faith in Idea's stock price. If there's undersubscription, the price can fall dramatically.
You could attempt to hedge out some of this risk by shorting a future, but do remember that means you should apply for at least 20,000 shares of Idea (that will be around the new lot size).
Assume you get only 87 shares (which is guaranteed, if you hold 38 shares). Then post record date, the price adjusts accordingly. Even if it share price falls to Rs 10 (a 42% fall!), at maximum you will be losing Rs 920 bucks.
Price Falls More Than 30% Post Record Date.
Assume you get allotted and post record date, price falls to say Rs 10, then in all you will be making a loss of Rs 1,950. That's a 26% loss for a fall in the price of 43%. A risk you have to analyze for yourself.
The bet here is on two things viz. you get more shares then allotted and the price doesn't fall drastically. An interesting bet will be to buy only 38 shares and bid for a lot more shares, even 20,000 shares, hoping to get an average price closer to Rs. 13, which provides a cushion.
Too many people are playing it already.
You could hedge against a price fall by shorting, say, May futures. May futures trade about 10% below the current market price, and therefore at least that much of a fall is expected in the spot price. This fall in the price could also state that people expect the stock to fall dramatically afterwards.
Even Bharti Airtel is planning to raise Rs 25,000 Cr capital via rights issue. Bharti Airtel is offering a discount of 30% on its current market price. Idea's is at a 56% discount.
There's no reason to assume Idea will suddenly start performing – just paying off debt is one thing, but to gain revenues or earnings is another. Therefore any bet can't be longer term.
However there is a potential arbitrage for people to buy a very small quantity in the market,and then use that to buy the rights shares. You can bid for more shares, and you should bid for as many as you like. However, there is a risk – of the price falling steeply post the rights issue. (And the rights shares could take time to be credited, about a couple weeks after).
On Friday we'll know the new Idea price, because the record date is early next week. You can only buy on Thursday (April 28th) but not a day after that. But however it goes, you have to apply to the rights issue even if you don't want to apply for more. Because the dilution will happen across the board.
The market cap of Idea is about 28,000 cr. and the new cash will add Rs. 25,000 cr. to it – taking it to a 53,000 cr. market cap, over 2870 cr. shares, with nearly 100,000 cr. of debt. Unless there's a strong recovery in earning, the Vodafone Idea combine will still need more cash to go through the next few years. If there's an Idea worth exploring, then it's only in the rights issue undersubscription arbitrage.
Disclaimer: Nothing in this newsletter is financial advice and should not be construed as such. Please do not take trading decisions based solely on the matter above; if you do, it is entirely at your own risk without any liability to Capitalmind. This is educational or informational matter only, and is provided as an opinion.
Disclosure: The authors at Capital Mind have positions in the market and some of them may support or contradict the material given above, or may involve a direction derived from independent analysis.


SEOUL, South Korea – Fernando Borbón is a man who seems to have little time for negativity.
Borbón, Costa Rica's ambassador to South Korea, shrugs, his countenance suggesting he deals with such matters as he would everyday obstacles like running to catch a subway or city traffic jams. He quickly turns to subjects clearly dear to him: peace and the presence of God in his life.
We are in his downtown office in the Costa Rican Embassy, a small eighth-floor operation close to the capital's Han River. For Borbón, there is no such thing as a crisis – only opportunities. That's also his view, for instance, on the credit crunch. And he says Korea's tenacity and morality is what made it emerge quicker from its ashes and with fewer industrial casualties.
First, though, Costa Rica. Beautiful country, we agree: two coasts ("Breakfast on the Pacific, lunch on the Caribbean"); former President Rodrigo Carazo ("I love him, I believed in him, I followed him. Parties changed, but that did not matter to me, I still admired what he'd done,"); and the pride of the U.N.-mandatedUniversity for Peace ("For peace, not of peace," he emphasizes). And life for him here – in a land that couldn't be farther removed from Costa Rica – is the same: an opportunity. Take Korean food, for instance. Many foreigners in Korea find the local cuisine a love that grows slowly over time, with food from home still prominent in their diets. Not Borbón.
"When I meet other Latin American ambassadors and their wives and we embrace each other, they say to me, 'Fernando, you smell Korean.'" You know, we (in the West) smell like milk. I don't have that flavor. I eat only Korean food, so I smell Korean," he says.
Likewise, he has a car, but uses the subway because he wants to "share with the local people." He is not fluent in Korean, but he makes efforts to learn words and phrases.
It sums up the overwhelming vibe Borbón, a divorced father of two, exudes: He's been here less than three years – his first posting to Asia – but South Korea is a country he's come to love.
Life here is at breakneck speed, a country in a hurry to go places. It's very different, much more conservative, with foreigners seemingly forever on the outside of a tight circle.
So the ambassador cuts what might seem an odd figure. A Christian pastor – not Catholic like most Ticos – he is the only foreigner of his congregation granted permission to preach in his church on Sundays, he says. Few Asian nations have embraced Christianity as has Korea, which has somewhere in the region of 9 million Protestants and 4 million Catholics.
Borbón believes in hard work. He is a man of the people, he insists.
That attitude seems to have far-reaching consequences. Ticos in neighboring countries where there are no consular services often travel to Seoul – when Singapore or Beijing might be nearer – because Borbón's door is always ajar, he says.
"Costa Ricans don't need an appointment with the ambassador. They want to come here. I know how it is because my daughters live in other countries. Many ambassadors just come to make business, but I cannot do that," he says.
His life is about prioritizing, the most important things first.
"Number one, God," he says, his outstretched arm motioning to a place on the wall as he stands by the door. "Number two, my daughters, and number three, my job." At one point he asks for my hand. He is explaining how he greets South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, also a devout Christian.
His name has just graced the cover of a local business magazine called Forca. "'How? Why?' people ask me," Borbón says. "'That's an expensive magazine, Fernando,' they say.
Professionally, the career diplomat would appear to have a difficult task. Costa Rica can't be a priority for South Korea; imaginably, neither would South Korea be focus No. 1 for Costa Rica, with the rising might of China. Yet Borbón tells a slightly different story.
According to 2009 statistics, bilateral trade volume between the two countries has increased, and is edging closer to parity, he says.
Borbón says he is regularly asked about poverty in his home country.
"I always ask them, 'What is poor?'" he says. "In Costa Rica, we don't have los miserables – how do you say (in English)?" Miserable … destitute?
"Yes," he continues, "like in Honduras or Nicaragua – I don't think, anyway." He also points to the propensity for outward shows of wealth – "coffee from Starbucks for $4 or $5" – as needless.
In a parallel kind of way, his reaction to views of the position he occupies in society is succinct. "I may be up high today, but tomorrow I am just the same as you," he says.
So any plans for retirement? A yearning for home? He glances skyward, with an upward flick of the finger. "At the mercy of God," he says.
As the interview nears its end, Borbón apologizes. "I speak so much," he says. "I've hardly allowed you to ask any questions." Truth be told, he traversed a similar path to the one I'd hoped to navigate. Next time, he promises, I'll get a word in edgewise.


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Breach – Xbox Live Arcade Review
Brash Games February 2, 2011
Xbox Live Arcade is fast becoming a treasure trove of indie treats. From the monochromatic delights of Limbo, to the scarlet splatterings of Super Meat Boy, Microsoft's service has given life to inventive new ideas, themes and concepts that simply wouldn't have seen the light of day in the past. Given the service's reputation for delivering small, quirky and highly original titles then, Breach is something of an anomaly.
An 8-vs-8 shooter in the Infinity Ward mould, Breach doesn't exactly push the boat out in terms of originality, that's for sure. But for Atomic Games to have crafted what is ostensibly an indie-FPS that looks and plays as well as its big-budget brothers is an achievement that few indie developers can lay claim to. That's not to say Breach is a complete rehash of Infinity Ward's lead-slinging opus, though. On the contrary; with the addition of destructible environments and an inspired cover-based mechanic, Breach offers enough 'bang' for your heard-earned buck.
Rockets, grenades and explosive charges are the tools of Breach's particular trade, allowing players to create the kind of carnage second only to the Next January sales. Cover splinters under heavy fire, walls can be destroyed to create makeshift doors, and bridges can be blown to smithereens, causing pesky enemies to fall to their untimely (and frankly hilarious) deaths. It's a shame that destruction isn't woven into the game's DNA to a greater extent though, as elsewhere Breach is a fairly typical, by-the-numbers shooter.
Spread out over four maps (well… five, if you count one of the original four set at night), Breach offers a selection of five different game modes including Infiltration, Convoy, Retrieval, Team Deathmatch and Sole Survivor. Unfortunately, it doesn't take long for FPS pundits to spot similarities between Breach's game types, and those found in more established shooters.
Infiltration, a point-based battle of the bases, is Conquest in all but name. Retrieval has players fighting for the possession of a biochemical canister (think Capture the Flag with one flag and you're half way there). Team Deathmatch is… well, Team Deathmatch, and Sole Survivor is more or less the same thing, only without respawns. In fact, it's Convoy, in which one team must escort two armoured vehicles to a specified destination, which offers the most replay value here – encouraging gamers to play to the strengths of their chosen class to yield better results.
Speaking of classes, there are initially four to choose from: Rifleman, Gunner, Support and Sniper. There's even a fifth class, Recon, which becomes unlocked once you've maxed out both the Rifleman and Sniper classes. However, with the exception of Recon (which boasts greater agility at the cost of reduced armour), classes are not in fact differentiated by their attributes, but by their weaponry. Riflemen, for example, carry explosive charges, whilst Gunners carry grenades.
Fortunately, XP earned in matches can be spent upgrading weaponry and armour, meaning that you're bound to find something that suits your play style sooner or later. Upgrades can be used across all classes, providing you've enough experience in the role, and vary from powerful grenade launchers and laser sights to more esoteric gizmos such as bionic ears and sonic imagers – the latter allowing players to see through walls.
That said, Breach assumes the role of an overly-protective parent when it comes to dishing out the big toys. In fact, it took us over an hour's worth of play to unlock our very first upgrade – something that's sure to enrage those accustomed to Modern Warfare's endless supply of goodies. That players also have to return to the main menu in order to alter their loadout is another of Atomic Games' oversights, making the game feel about as archaic as Goldeneye on the N64. And that's not where Breach's shortcomings end, we're afraid.
Such is the competitive nature of the FPS market, that every facet of Breach feels merely competent. Even when Breach attempts to innovate (with environmental destruction and third person cover mechanics) it doesn't take long to think of titles that's implemented those mechanics to a higher standard. In fact, many of Breach's innovations seem to break the FPS formula, as opposed to improving it.
Obliterating a connecting bridge might seem like a spiffing idea at the time, but when it starts to restrict movement around the map you'll be wishing you hadn't. What's more, the addition of a third person cover system gives undue prominence to the Sniper class, allowing them to sweep the immediate area whilst remaining undetected.
Atomic's clearly spent a significant amount of time preening Breach to look the part, but graphical defects can be spotted all over the shop, with muddy textures, awkward animations, an inconsistent frame rate and some of the most atrocious clipping issues we've ever witnessed in an online FPS.
Breach certainly has the makings of a decent FPS, but in aiming its sights at the work of Treyarch and Infinity Ward, Breach offers little incentive for gamers to make the transition. It's a "me too" product, released on a service known for delivering unique and innovative titles. Military enthusiasts and diehard shooter fans will find a lot to love about Breach, but everyone else would do best to check out Battlefield: 1943 or Blacklight: Tango Down for their tactical shootouts.
Score: 5/10 – Average
Brash Games
Tags:Atomic Games, First Person Shooter, FPS, Rating 5/10, XBLA, Xbox 360 Review, Xbox Live Arcade Review
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Liam	February 2, 2011
It's a shame that no one plays tango down anymore. Quite enjoyed that. sadly, while us prefer to get this rather than a Cod map pack, I fear that the online numbers will dwindle pretty swift.
Ricky Staines	February 2, 2011
I definitely think you're right there, Liam 🙂
I reckon the PC version of Breach will fare better on the community front 🙂
Yeah, can't see it surviving on console.


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Woolf, Wales and Shrewsbury Folk Festival
I've been travelling for nearly 2 weeks, starting off with the amazing intimate gathering of musicians and music-lovers that was Woolf Music, at Cleeve House in Wiltshire, then travelling through Wales, revisiting some of the places that inspired Pilgrim Chants & Pastoral Trails, and ending at Shrewsbury Folk Festival to perform as part of the Bright Phoebus Sings Tom Waits show.
I set off from Sheffield with Jeanette Leach, who would open the proceedings at Woolf Music with readings from Seasons They Change, her history of acid and psych folk. We were among the first to arrive on friday evening and after being shown to our dorm room, which apparently Virginia Woolf had slept in on a visit there, found a spot on the terrace to drink a glass or two of wine whilst watching people arrive and set up tents. Saturday was when things got going and after Jeanette's reading, it was continuous music till midnight. A highlight for everyone I spoke to was United Bible Studies' set, and this song in particular, which was explosive:
Woolf Music was organised by Phil McMullen and was basically a mini-Terrastock. With only around 250 people in total it felt more like a party than a festival, and it was so good to reconnect with the extended Terrascopic family. Roll on Woolf Music 2014!
Then I had 5 days in Wales to visit good friends and walk in my favourite places. The last time I'd been there had been in the spring together with Martin and Elina Massai Andersen. Martin took some stunning photos for the artwork for 'Pilgrim Chants', some of which can be seen here:
This time, I took some snapshots with my Retro Camera app:
Playing in the local church with Harriet Earis.
I missed most of Shrewsbury Folk Festival, arriving on sunday afternoon, just in time to see some of the Melrose Quartet's lovely set, and then get together with the Bright Phoebus gang to practice the Tom Waits songs we'd be playing that evening. It was fun sitting in the sun with Rob Harbron's old harmonium set up on the grass, Sam Sweeney's makeshift drumkit and Jon Boden, Martin Simpson, Rowan Rheingans and Jess Arrowsmith. When it came to the show, we had a blast, and I'm looking forward to the London show next month.
'Pilgrim Chants & Pastoral Trails' out now
My new album of soundscapes inspired by the landscapes of Mid Wales is now out on Second Language.
The album is no. 5 in Second Language's Library Series: a highly collectable catalogue of hardback CD albums designed to be stored in your bookcase. An accompanying bonus disc, 'Night Mare,' is available free with this release to Second Language subscribers. Both the main album and the bonus disc were beautifully designed by Martin Masai Andersen/Andersen M Studio.
An accompanying bonus cd, 'Night Mare', which is a chilling, dark sister-album to 'Pilgrim Chants', is also available.
For Tom Carter
Deserted Village have released a mammoth 99 track digital album to help out with costs incurred during Tom Carter's recovery from the illness which hospitalised him during Charalambides European tour last year. I've a track on it, recorded together with Daniel Padden, John Cavanagh and Chris Hladowski.
I've been meaning to start a blog for a while, and have finally got it together, along with a brand new site design – I hope you like it!
I'll be posting news of releases, gigs, and projects, but also writing about things I'm thinking about. Maybe that'll be interesting, maybe it won't – we'll see!


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Contemporary Dance and Whiteness
Posted on 17th January 2020 17th January 2020
On Race and Racism in UK's Contemporary Dance by Jane Chan
I am Jane Chan, a choreographer and dance artist of East Asian heritage who works within the intersections of choreography, storytelling, performance, teaching, producing, project management and change instigation.
As a person of colour, first-generation immigrant in the UK and a dance artist with a diverse training portfolio, intersectionality is no stranger. I know I cannot possibly fight every single battle that is thrown my way so instead, I choose the battles that I cannot put aside. With the battles I do choose to fight, I always remind myself that they are meant to be long, time-consuming, labourious, uncomfortable and messy all at once. That said, I know that if I want to make things right, I have to start by making changes within myself today and be able to carry this on into the next few decades; and this includes creating a presence for myself at events. I hope I can contribute to the arts and culture sector by leaving a legacy for our next generations through my being, presence and practices aimed at dismantling, re-distributing and reconstructing the hierarchy of power alongside other people of colour and marginalised communities.
I am an avid instigator of change within organisations. As bodies of colour, we often find ourselves in situations where we feel it is our responsibility to raise awareness regarding racial issues and right the wrong. However, in my opinion, issues regarding race is only one facet of a much bigger issue, that is, white middle-class cis males and sometimes white cis females, continue to be regarded as the default whilst anyone who is not, is excluded from this whiteness.
It is also important to acknowledge the intersectionality that many people embody. The many layers of hurdles that a person of colour, non cis-gendered body is required to go through in order to make a presence, hold space, raise concerns and make their voice heard entails great amount of emotional and mental labour which are often unaccounted for. It is taxing and causes fatigue.
Promises and words are all well and good but sadly, speaking from experience, I am often left feeling suspicious of the underlying intentions of various organisations. Actions, as we know speak much louder than words. Buzz words mean nothing and they will certainly not fool the laser-sharp senses of people of colour. We see through the fluff. Unless arts and cultural institutions and organisations are truly committed to being at the forefront of change for the better, nothing will really change, particularly those have unrivalled reputation for platforming and uplifting global arts for its selected artists, companies and audiences and therefore hold the power to change the conversation surrounding orientalism, fetishisation and othering in the arts. Let's not forget that the arts are for everyone, regardless of age, gender, religion or socio-economic background. These institutions should be held accountable for their cultural responsibilities to respectfully represent all cultures.
I appreciate a lot of work has been done by independent artists, but their time and resources are relatively scarce compared to that of an institution. I am by no means demeaning any of the work that individual artists do, in fact I applaud them, however, without the institutions owning up to their responsibilities, we as communities of the arts and culture sector will not be able to move forward as a whole. We will be left behind and soon become irrelevant.
For allies who wish to support people of colour, may I urge you to do a tally of people of colour in every room or space you walk into. Keep a record of this and you will soon realise how white spaces are, especially spaces linked to power. This is of course the first step of raising awareness of the status quo. I would also suggest as a general rule that arts organisations have their artistic director and CEO as two separate roles. When these roles are combined, the ultimate power of an organisation would be held by one person which in my opinion upholds the status quo than disrupt it. These roles should be mutually exclusive with fixed terms where applications take the form of open call, not by appointment nor invitation. Moreover, conversations regarding equality, diversity and inclusion needs to be conducted and maintained at all levels of an organisation on an on-going basis, with people of colour forming an integral part of the dialogue. There are of course many other things that allies, organisations and institutes can do, but this would be very specific consultation work that this article will not be able to cover.
We all need to join forces in doing and being better regardless of whether you are an independent artist or an employee of an organisation. Let us all celebrate small steps. However small a step, it is still a step forward.
To conclude, I want to take this time to share a thought from Zhou's article:
we hear diversity and inclusion a lot but being inclusive, the power still lies within the person or organisation who is being inclusive, for example, I invite you to dance, I decide the music, venue, genres, context, rules.
In another words, those with privilege and power needs to actively give up some of the power and make space for those who hold less. And if this statement makes you uncomfortable, 'then it's clear your interest in this idea of diversity and inclusion is only when it serves you, not for the benefit of others'. (Zhou, 2019)
https://www.pantograph-punch.com/post/julie-zhu-power-of-inclusion-speech?fbclid=IwAR3omDLf6DW4Q_F-z35zWYDP7nlmkMnPT6t1T5gqpv-N8joPy3sv4-IZWNs (accessed 15 Jan, 2020)
Jane Chan is a choreographer and dance artist trained in Chinese classical, Chinese folk, contemporary, ballet, wing chun and kathak who works in the intersections of choreography, dance, performance, teaching and change instigation. Also, a member of Amina Khayyam Dance Company since 2014, one of the artists of colour steering group at Chisenhale Dance Space, the London Correspondent for dancejournal/hk, one of the Overture 2019/20 cohort for Matthew Bourne's New Adventures, a mentor for Arts Emergency and the founder of Passion Project, a teaching initiative that aims to share the joy and benefits of movement and dance to non-dance professionals, immigrant women group, older adults with and without dementia.
www.chanjane.com
Posted on 9th December 2019 9th December 2019
Problems, Obstacles, Saboteurs
In my previous post I ended on this note 'But, more importantly, making space on the part of us people of colour, has to also simultaneously be about sabotaging processes by which (white) spaces are and have been historically produced, such that we can start 'taking up space' (Kwakye and Ogunbiyi; 2019) and upending power.' In this post I want to specifically develop the idea of sabotage as a mode of dismantling whiteness (and other hegemonies) in contemporary dance.
Last month my colleague Broderick Chow and I co-presented our The UCLA Letters: On Dismantling Whiteness in the Academy at a seminar for graduate students in University of California, LA's Department of World Arts and Culture / Dance. Taking the form of six letters (three each) that we wrote to each other over a period of two months (September to November 2019), our dialogue navigated personal experiences, critical theories, and embodied realities as scholars of colour living and working in the UK to create a matrix of protest in and through which to approach dismantling the whiteness of our fields. During our presentation, we incorporated an additional performative gesture by reading out the letters we had received, as opposed to the letters we had written. There was something in that complex layering of my voice reading out Broderick's letters, and Broderick reading out mine that punctuated the dialectical verve of our dialogue further, while allowing us to vocalise and process the other's thoughts, experiences and interventions. We are planning to publish the piece for anyone interested in encountering the full exchange. But in this post I want to journey through the sections of our letters that got me to the point to advocate for antiracism in our fields as acts of sabotage to systems and performances of whiteness.
Through our letters we dwelled on whether being a problem is indeed a problem, that is, 'a bad thing'. Broderick began with problematising the pejorative associations with 'being a problem' and through the course of our letters, we journeyed to the conclusion with me advocating for sabotage to systems of whiteness. I trace our thinking below through citing key points in our line of thinking:
Letter 2 from Royona to Broderick signalling how PoC are framed as problems within institutions:
'[Sara] Ahmed has further noted that taking on institutions through complaints work and pointing out problems on the grounds of social justice invariably positions us undertaking this work as the problems.'.
Letter 3 from Broderick to Royona claiming back the word problem:
'But is being a problem such a bad thing? Maybe it is, in terms of how decolonization has been smoothed over and gentrified in the academy. When universities use the term "decolonize" today, it is in service of a fantasy that we could ever really remove coloniality. Decolonizing sounds too much like de-scaling to me—you descale your shower every two weeks, but it keeps coming back. I wonder if decolonizing evacuates the political from coloniality, the political project of assertion of your self-hood and interests against those who want to deny you these, a political project that is fundamentally antagonistic. Perhaps this is why I prefer "anti-colonialism" as a term, because it still holds that the process is one of contestation. Is this anti-colonial work then? Not to point out problems, or what's "problematic", but to be a problem?'
'At the start of this letter I used the term problem interchangeably with obstacle. But they are very different. An obstacle resists the volition of another. But a problem reshapes the world around it to accommodate its own desires, if only to make that transformation for herself.'
Letter 4 from Royona to Broderick on problems as blockages that stall systems:
'So I hope that in our call for overcoming the stuckness that grips us scholars of colour through more movement, we can consider the resistive power in stillness. Could we also imagine stillnesses as proactive blockages that stop whiteness from functioning as a system? In this perhaps I want to invert Sara Ahmed's evocation of social justice workers as plumbers who locate and ease blockages in systems. What if we are not plumbers but indeed the blockages themselves?'
'To be still in this mode then might mean to stay put, to claim, to own, to create blocks, to become obstacles, to cause spanners, to take up space, to become the problem as you say.'
Letter 5 from Broderick to Royona on problematising / complicating 'making space' on white terms :
'Making space, turned around: how is space made? Not just space, but what Henri Lefebvre called the production of space, the consideration of space in all its dialectical relations: ideological, architectural, lived and embodied. What forces, for example, lead the British university to decide there is only room for six things a year, and only three years? (I can hazard a guess). What forces produce our endless movement as academics—our international travel to places like UCLA, to Hawaii, our productivity, our disseminations of ideas across the world—while still limiting our potentiality?'
Letter 6 from Royona to Broderick on antiracism as sabotage to white systems:
'Might […] sabotage include the mere presence of black people and people of colour, within the relational context of the white academy? Might we be able to extend recent Cambridge University graduates Chelsea Kwakye and Ore Ogunbiyi's provocation, that for black bodies to exist within white institutions is in itself an act of resistance, in order to reimagine black people and people of colour in the academy as saboteurs? To resist is to object to the operation of a system. But to sabotage is to disable it.'
'In her article 'Dramaturgy and Sabotage' Arabella Stanger reminds us that dramaturgy is a set of relational acts and that 'sabotage resides […] in acts that disrupt production or slow it down'. She argues for dramaturgy as a potential act of sabotage that upends artistic power asymmetries by 'transforming the relational capacity of those involved'. Following this line of thinking, I am pondering whether, within the relational nexus of the white academy, might you and I and scholars of colour carrying out antiracist and anticolonial work, function as saboteurs practising disruptive dramaturgies to dismantle the performance of whiteness?'
'In refusing to move on the terms of coloniality, in rejecting smoothening over dialectics in favour of civility, in dwelling in tense stillnesses, and in 'taking up space', I end then on the potentialities of antiracist and anticolonial thinking and doing as a dramaturgical sabotage to systems of whiteness.'
What then can sabotaging the whiteness of contemporary dance and dance studies look like? How might us artists and scholars of colour reimagine ourselves as saboteurs in these fields?
Posted on 1st December 2019 1st December 2019
anti-racist contemporary dance: a conversation (Tuesday 3 December 2019)
With Alexandrina Hemsley, Rob Jones, Seeta Patel and Rajni Shah, facilitated by Royona Mitra. The panel will discuss the structural racisms and racist silencing that operate in the contemporary dance sector. By centring anti-racist and decolonial works by dance artists and programmers of colour, the discussion will reflect on coalitional strategies for moving against and beyond the forms of racial violence and erasure that shape our field.
Independent Dance, Tuesday 3 December 2019; 7pm to 8:30pm.
the tools of a racist patriarchy
'What does it mean when the tools of a racist patriarchy are used to examine the fruits of that same patriarchy? It means that only the most narrow perimeters of change are possible and allowable'… 'For the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house. They may allow us temporarily to beat him at his own games, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change.'
— Audrey Lorde 2007: 110–112: Comments at Second Sex Conference, New York, September 29, 1979. Cited in Mirza, H.S., 2018. Racism in Higher Education: 'What Then, Can Be Done?', in: Arday, J., Mirza, H.S. (Eds.), Dismantling Race in Higher Education: Racism, Whiteness and Decolonising the Academy. Palgrave MacMillan, London, pp. 3–23 (this quotation p.3)
white privilege and black deprivation
White privileges are the relative advantages racism affords to people identified as white, whether white people recognize them or deny them. To be white is to be afforded one's individuality. Afforded the presumption of innocence. Afforded the assumption of intelligence. Afforded empathy when crying or raging. Afforded disproportionate amounts of policy-making power. Afforded opportunity from a white network.
The inverse of white privilege is black deprivation.
– Ibram X. Kendi
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/10/too-short-lives-black-men/600628/
skin in the game
This Thursday 28 November 2019 at Z-Arts in Manchester:
SKIN in the Game is a bringing together of a representative cohort of artists, journalists and researchers of colour from across the UK. It offers a platform to thinking and discussion around ghettoisation, radical constitutions, anti-racist work, representation and leadership both within Live Art and in culture. It is an open space for discursive honesty.
http://www.liveartuk.org/blog/skin-in-the-game
Giving Up Space / Taking Up Space
Over the last few years I have spoken widely with colleagues and students about 'making space' for perspectives, peoples, epistemologies and practices that both academia and contemporary dance world have historically ignored. I have advocated for people in dominant positions to 'make space' for marginalised narratives and practices to actively decentre our disciplines. 'Making space', I have said, is about recognising that space is finite, that occupation of space is power and that the production of space is a political act. Working on this anti-racist contemporary dance project over the last six months, and through conversations with my colleague Broderick Chow at Brunel University London while writing our joint presentation for UCLA earlier this month (The UCLA Letters: On Dismantling Whiteness in the Academy), however has led me to think in more nuanced ways.
Making space relies, naively, on our white institutions, colleagues and peers to take on the task of producing space while we wait. In reality though they are likely to ignore, even blame, the finiteness of space itself by foregoing nothing (or very little) of their own, while squeezing in some cursory references to other knowledge-systems in trite and tick-box ways. Within university curricula, space-making manifests in optional modules for hitherto marginalised practices, while dominant narratives retain core slots. Within the dance industry the diversity agenda abounds as ways of making space, fraught with Orientalisms and power asymmetries. Nothing changes. We continue to wait.
Making space has no purpose and certainly no bite if nothing gives on the part of the status quo. Things have to go. Content has to be displaced. People have to be replaced. Perspectives have to be erased. Making space has to be fundamentally and necessarily about 'giving up space' on part of our white colleagues. But, more importantly, making space on the part of us people of colour, has to also simultaneously be about sabotaging processes by which (white) spaces are and have been historically produced, such that we can start 'taking up space' (Kwakye and Ogunbiyi; 2019) and upending power.
Anti-Racist work in dance studies and the contemporary dance field has to be about redistribution of this power from those who are in current possession of it. On our own terms.
from the classroom
This blog has been quiet for a few weeks. One of the reasons for our radio silence is the somehow-always-a-surprise lack of time ushered in by the intensity of the university teaching term.
There's an upside to this intensity: the great pleasure of being in sustained, weekly dialogue about challenging ideas with undergraduate students, groups of people who are mostly in their late teens and early twenties, and who (in our case as dance and performance university lecturers) are making art, reading about art, talking about art and its place in the world. Being part of these dialogues is where the job of being an academic is its most challenging, invigorating, and world-shaking. It's in these classroom discussions that I usually learn the most.
Over the past few months, one group of students and I have been having a kind of on again / off again conversation about all the 'NOes' in Yvonne Rainer's No Manifesto (1965).
(Read the manifesto, in its 2008 revisited form, in an interview with Rainer here.)
In the context of a tangled conversation about the politics of saying 'yes' or saying 'no' to things as an artist, one of the students proposed the following neat idea: "you have to have already been awarded many 'YESses' in your life, for your 'NOes' to get listened to". (Let me know if you'd like to cite this particular comment and I'll ask the author/speaker in question for her permission and if she would like to share her name.) This student was inspired to formulate that thought especially by having read passages of Miguel Gutierrez's brilliant article 'Does Abstraction Belong to White People' (2018). I'll share a brief part of that article here, in partnership with the YEses/NOes insight, as a kind of a dispatch from the classroom:
Who has the right not to explain themselves? The people who don't have to. The ones whose subjectivities have been naturalized. It enrages me. No, it confuses me. I'm all for being confused, for searching, for having to do a bit of work. But the absence of explanation is somehow … somehow … somehow what?
— Gutierrez, Miguel. 'Does Abstraction Belong to White People?', Bomb Magazine. 2018. https://bombmagazine.org/articles/miguel-gutierrez-1
Posted on 21st October 2019 27th October 2019
hopelessness-hope
I spent a long time yesterday reading and re-reading a text shared by choreographer and dancer Malik Nashad Sharpe on their webpage. They write about (their) dance as a practice that slides across the place where hope has been foreclosed but where possible futures still appear. That radical slide between hopelessness and possibility is at play also in Saidiya Hartman's new book Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments (2019), a work about intimate acts of rebellion performed by young black women in U.S. cities at the turn of the twentieth century.
I wondered what it would be like to read back-and-forth between these two texts. Here…
dance is a belief system and choreography is space. these things do not make dreams come true but they are where dreams are made into material texture. performance is fodder for hope and the positing of something else. in defense of marginal and radial practices, choreography that is coy and dysfunctional, a moment where things are not always what they seem. dancing and making it mean something to me, asking something of it. asking it to give me a future if only fleetingly. (Malik Nashad Sharpe)
Wayward, related to the family of words: errant, fugitive, recalcitrant, anarchic, willful, reckless, troublesome, riotous, tumultuous, rebellious and wild. To inhabit the world in ways inimical to those deemed proper and respectable, to be deeply aware of the gulf between where you stayed and how you might live. (Saidiya Hartman, 227)
i'm favouring the complex, the tug and spiral, the working with what is known now and before hierarchies of importance were forged under the influence of others. working with being a faggot, not woman not man, unruly. ordered differently. against an unspoken genocide. working where things are built and fallen, trying to build and falling. giving rise to another possibility, again. (Malik Nashad Sharpe)
Waywardness is a practice of possibility at a time when all roads, except the ones created by smashing out, are foreclosed. It obeys no rules and abides no authorities. It is unrepentant. It traffics in occult visions of other worlds and dreams of a different kind of life. Waywardness is an ongoing exploration of what might be; it is an improvisation with the terms of social existence, when the terms have already been dictated, when there is little room to breathe, when you have been sentenced to a life of servitude, when the house of bondage looms in whatever direction you move. It is the untiring practice of trying to live when you were never meant to survive. (Saidiya Hartman, 228)
willing futurity, the body as a repository for memory. desire. the history lessons that refused to be learnt. Imagination. possibility. maintenance. relief. there is an assumption that those make us powerless and i don't believe that. do you know what its like to not be made human? i will ensure subjectivity and remake it again and again. that is all. (Malik Nashad Sharpe)
Malik Nashad Sharpe (2019) http://maliknashadsharpe.com/about
Saidiya V. Hartman (2019) Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments: Intimate Histories of Social Upheaval
Dance must fall
Last month, our colleague and friend Sita Balani wrote about her experiences of attending Literature Must Fall, a literary festival held in Birmingham on 28 September 2019. Aimed not at celebrating literature but 'challenging it head-on', the festival as Balani describes it has me dreaming about similar gatherings in the field of contemporary dance.
Balani writes:
I took the train to Birmingham for Literature Must Fall, [small in scale] but conceptually ambitious, aiming to dismantle literature rather than hold it up for admiration. […] As co-founder Imandeep Kaur wryly explained, they just get on with doing things, like providing childcare and prayer space, that other people like to theorise about but rarely put into practice.
The festival itself was unlike any mainstream literary event I've ever encountered. There was little distinction between speaker and audience, and the majority of participants were women of colour. Looking at the programme, it seemed to be for people who were critical about the white publishing industry, but just as skeptical about the diversity initiatives that sought to include us. If the implicit rationale of most literature festival turns on the civilizing potential of art, Literature Must Fall asked how writing could help to bring down what passes for civilization. The conversations were expansive and ballsy. There was no grandstanding, no celebrity-worship. Some of the familiar tropes got an airing (the white gaze, exoticisation etc) but even these ideas were given new life in an atmosphere that allowed for genuine disagreement without rancor.
The day pushed back on the identity talk that characterises much of the diversity discourse, including its intersectional offshoots. Instead, people hunted for new paradigms and thought collectively about the limitations of postcolonial theory, confessional literature, folk stories, narrating our experiences, trauma, and the written word itself.
Sita Balani, 'Gather', 26 September 2019, https://medium.com/@balani.sita/gather-cf2c825ac022
Two questions are on my mind:
1. Where in our daily work as artists, producers, scholars, workers in the field of contemporary dance could we take more chances to dismantle dance rather than hold it up for admiration?
2. What kind of festival formats are necessary for swerving the moribund work of diversity initiatives but instead creating the conditions for people to reflect collectively on the limitations of dance as a mode of anti-racist action but also to ask: 'how dance could help bring down what passes for civilisation'?
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blog – Page 340 – Contemporary Dance and Whiteness on Anti-Racist Research
what to give up – Contemporary Dance and Whiteness on Integrity and disintegrations


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Dr. Andrea Small-Howard, Gb Sciences, Talks Plant-Based Therapies for Parkinson's Disease
Rob Dillard
Gb Sciences – a leading plant-inspired biopharmaceutical research and development company – is beginning a dosage study of its plant-based, patent-protected formulations in a rodent model of Parkinson's disease, the second-most common neurodegenerative disease.
The biopharmaceutical research company plans to file an Investigational New Drug Application to begin first-in-human clinical trials as early as next year when they will hire a new doctor-patient management service.
DocWire News spoke with Dr. Andrea Small-Howard, President and Chief Science Officer of Gb Sciences, about the company and this exciting news.
DocWire News: Can you give us some background on yourself, and the company, GB Sciences?
Dr. Andrea Small-Howard: Sure. Yeah. I'm a biochemist by training, which gives me a sort of an interesting perspective on the world. I've always been sort of fascinated by plant-based compounds.
And so back in the early 2000's, I started looking at the effects of cannabis on the immune system, because I felt like that was a really important thing to be studying because at the time there were only five states that were allowing HIV and AIDS patients to have access to medical cannabis as sort of a part of a compassionate use program. Yet we had no information about what effects those compounds were going to have on their immune system.
So that was my first taste of really getting involved in using cannabinoids in a potentially medicinal setting. But I got to report back that it was really tough going in that when you were studying cannabinoids back in the early 2000's, you had to do this DEA, NIDA, NIH shuffle.
There's all this paperwork involved and it was really, really great work, but it was so hard to just get a single experiment done that eventually I started working in a different company where we were studying cancer and we had a great time developing new cancer therapeutics as well as new cancer testing methods.
And so that was a lot of fun, but I always wanted to go back and look at the power of plant-based medicine. So that's kind of who I am, but it also leads us into how I got involved with GB Sciences.
So GB Sciences in the early days was a company that was looking to use science to enhance the way that patients were able to interact with medical cannabis. And we had two licenses, one in Las Vegas, and one in partnership with LSU in Louisiana. And so the goal was to take the power of science to better bring products to cannabis patients.
And so that was kind of how I got involved with GP Sciences as one of the founders. Since then, we've done a pivot and we've sold off all of our plant-touching assets. And during the process of us being a plant-touching company, we had access to the plant so we could do a lot of great research, much more quickly and easily than I could do if I was in an academic setting because I didn't have to fill out a lot of new paperwork.
And so the learning that we had on how the plant works and how those compounds worked was really greatly accelerated while GB Sciences was a plant-touching company. And we took that information and we filed 60 patents on different uses of ingredients from cannabis as therapeutic medicines. And now we're working on other plant-based medicines.
What are the main challenges associated with treating Parkinson's disease?
The trickiest part of treating Parkinson's disease is that it's a multifactorial disease. Meaning there's many different factors involved in getting it and it's progression. And therefore it's not like you have to fix one thing. Usually there's a genetic component, but there's also environmental things that happen that lead people into a diagnosis of the symptoms of Parkinson's.
And so every individual patient has a different path towards the disease. And as they're progressing through the disease, it's also very individualized. The time course on the symptoms and stuff like that is very different depending upon the patient. And so you really need to take sort of a personalized medicine approach when you're treating Parkinson's disease.
Can you speak on the plant-based formulations GB Sciences has designed to treat PD?
Yes. So one of the overarching goals of our drug development program at GB Sciences is we are looking to create something we call Minimum Essential Mixtures. So we're taking plant extracts, which contain literally hundreds of potential active ingredients, and we're using an AI enabled drug discovery engine, as well as cell and animal models of disease to be able to determine how to simplify these mixture of a hundred different things down to something that usually has between three and five ingredients.
And we go through rigorous testing to make sure that we're preserving the best parts of the activity of an original extract, but in a formulation that is much more readily adaptable to being produced in a factory. Does that make sense?
Talk to us about the recent news that GB Sciences' formulation is entering final stages for first-in-human testing.
Yes, absolutely. We're really excited. We've been working on this a while and things are coming together now. So one of the things that is also a challenge in working with, we're calling them plant inspired ingredients because we do natural product research, but then the active ingredients that we've identified are being manufactured in a factory without the use of the plant.
So this is called a synthetic homolog and that's, that's kind of, I'm just going to get sciencey for a second here, synthetic homologs are identical in their chemical structure to what's in the plant, but you can make it in these big vats in a factory with the precision that not only patients deserve, but also the FDA likes because all of our therapeutics are designed to go to the prescription drug market. And therefore we have certain standards of quality control and testing that we have to meet in order to be able to get these out to patients.
When do you expect human testing to begin, and what results are you hoping to see?
So, as I mentioned before, the active ingredients that we're using in these mixtures for Parkinson's, we've dialed it into not just what's in there, but also the very specific ratios that are required for this to be used as a therapeutic in the cell and animal models.
We're then combining the active ingredients in a tablet that's an oral dissolving tablet. And that's super important because if you can't get these plant-based compounds into your system in an efficient way, then they're not very good as medicine.
And the other thing that we did, when we were looking for a delivery method for active ingredients, is we thought about the patient population. And one of the things that's known is that greater than 50% of all Parkinson's patients really can't swallow, not even water. And so we're putting the active ingredients into something called an oral dissolving tablet in conjunction with a company called Catalent Pharma. They own the proprietary delivery rights.
So they're putting those active ingredients that we're providing into these tablets and the nice thing is that it's going really well. So this sort of blending of putting the plant inspired ingredients into these tablets is going well. And so we're now testing them to determine, based on animal studies, what's the approximate dosage that you would need for human studies. And we're also looking to see how often do you have to dose them to keep the levels of the active ingredients at the same level in their system, so that it's effective?
So it's very exciting to be in this final push to get, now that we've got the active ingredients identified, we've got them into these tablets, and now we're doing the testing to verify that we know exactly how much and over what time courses to use.
So those are the things that are happening right now. So we're right on that cusp of being able to file is something called an IND or Investigational New Drug Application so that we can start this trial. So we're predicting next year.
What impact can GB Sciences have on the fight against neurodegenerative diseases such as PD?
We hope to have a significant impact in that we're one of the few companies that is really thinking about using a multi component drug. And as I mentioned earlier, one of the frustrating things about Parkinson's when you start to look at it, is that there's several different aspects of the disease. There's sort of an anti-inflammatory aspect, there's a lysosomal dysfunction aspect of it. And so what we're doing in our multi-component drug is we're really trying to have ingredients in there that will address several of the different factors that leads to the disease.
And at this point, it's being designed specifically to help with the motor symptoms of Parkinson's, but we believe that testing will bear out that it may have some other activities.
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According to the USDA, in 2008 the United States had an inflation rate of 4.30%, which made it rank forty-eighth in terms of lowest inflation rates. New Caledonia ranked first, with an inflation rate of 0.6%.
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Cracker Barrel is a total experience.
The Cracker Barrel restaurant and store chain has hundreds of locations in 42 states, and the new location in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho will be its 637th. It's also the furthest one out West. And people are just about losing their minds over it, according to a delightful article by Adriana Janovich in the Spokane, Wash.-based Spokesman-Review.
"People plan their vacations around locations of Cracker Barrel," he said. "I've had people drive from Seattle to Missoula just to eat there."
And he's not wrong, because people have apparently been stopping by over the past two weeks in anticipation for the opening.
Said Eads, "People have told us for years they want a Cracker Barrel here. I have not met anybody that isn't excited."
The grand opening for the Coeur d'Alene Cracker Barrel is at 6 a.m. Monday. We can't wait for the Yelp reviews.


text:
package getprofile

import (
    "regexp"
    "os/exec"
    "path"
    "path/filepath"
    "os"
)

type gitSyncer struct{}

var gitSyncerInstance *gitSyncer = &gitSyncer{}

func (sync *gitSyncer) Supports(repoUrl string) bool {
    if matched, err := regexp.MatchString(".+@.+:.+", repoUrl); err != nil {
        dbgf("Error checking gitSyncer.Supports(%v)", repoUrl)
        return false
    } else {
        return matched
    }
}

func (sync *gitSyncer) Init() error {
    if repoUrl, err := getConfig(); err != nil {
        return err
    } else if _, err := os.Stat(path.Join(repoPath, ".git")); os.IsNotExist(err) {
        dest := path.Join(basePath, "repo")
        dbgf("Cloning %v to %v", repoUrl, dest)
        return execWithDebug("git", "clone", repoUrl, dest)
    } else {
        return nil // Already cloned
    }
}

func (sync *gitSyncer) Track(absPath, relPath string) error {
    copyToRepo(absPath, relPath)

    cmd := exec.Command("git", "add", relPath)
    cmd.Dir = repoPath
    return cmd.Run()
}

func (sync *gitSyncer) Untrack(relPath string) error {
    cmd := exec.Command("git", "rm", "-f", relPath)
    cmd.Dir = repoPath
    return cmd.Run()
}

func (sync *gitSyncer) Push() error {
    inf("Sending updates out")
    if err := filepath.Walk(repoPath, makeWalkFunc(copyToRepo)); err != nil {
        return err
    } else {
        repoPath := path.Join(basePath, "repo")

        dbg("Command:", "git", "diff", "HEAD", "--quiet")
        cmd := exec.Command("git", "diff", "HEAD", "--quiet")
        cmd.Dir = repoPath
        if err := cmd.Run(); err == nil {
            inf("No changes to push.")
            return nil
        } else if execExitStatus(err, 1) {
            dbg("Changes to push. Continuing.")
        } else if execExitStatus(err, 128) {
            dbg("New git repo. Will try to continue.")
        } else {
            return err
        }

        if cmd.ProcessState.Success() {
            return nil // No changes
        } else if _, err := gitRepoExec("git", "add", "-u"); err != nil {
            return err
        } else if _, err := gitRepoExec("git", "commit", "-m", "auto-commit"); err != nil {
            return err
        } else {
            _, err = gitRepoExec("git", "push")
            return err
        }
    }
}

func (sync *gitSyncer) Pull(force bool) error {
    inf("Copying updates in")
    if prevSha, err := gitSha(); err != nil {
        return err
    } else if _, err := gitRepoExec("git", "pull"); err != nil {
        return err
    } else if nowSha, err := gitSha(); err != nil {
        return err
    } else if force || prevSha != nowSha {
        return filepath.Walk(path.Join(basePath, "repo"), makeWalkFunc(copyToLocal))
    } else {
        inf("No updates. Use --force to overwrite local files anyways.")
        return nil
    }
}

func makeWalkFunc(processor func(absPath, relPath string) error) filepath.WalkFunc {
    return func(absPath string, info os.FileInfo, err error) error {
        if err != nil {
            return err
        } else if info.IsDir() {
            return nil
        } else if relPath, err := filepath.Rel(repoPath, absPath); err != nil {
            return err
        } else if !filepath.HasPrefix(relPath, ".git") {
            return processor(absPath, relPath)
        } else {
            return nil
        }
    }
}

func gitRepoExec(cmdToks ...string) (string, error) {
    dbgf("Checking: %v", cmdToks)
    cmd := exec.Command(cmdToks[0], cmdToks[1:]...)
    cmd.Dir = repoPath
    if bytes, err := cmd.Output(); err != nil {
        return string(bytes), err
    } else {
        return string(bytes), nil
    }
}

func gitSha() (string, error) {
    return gitRepoExec("git", "rev-parse", "HEAD")
}

func copyToRepo(absPath, relPath string) error {
    dbgf("Checking:", relPath)
    src := path.Join(homePath, relPath)
    dest := path.Join(repoPath, relPath)
    if err := os.MkdirAll(path.Dir(dest), 0700); err != nil {
        return err
    } else if _, err := os.Stat(src); os.IsNotExist(err) {
        return nil
    } else {
        dbgf("Copying %v to %v", src, dest)
        return err2(cp.Single(dest, src))
    }
}

func copyToLocal(absPath, relPath string) error {
    inf("Copying:", relPath)
    src := absPath
    dest := path.Join(homePath, relPath)
    if err := os.MkdirAll(path.Dir(dest), 0700); err != nil {
        return err
    } else {
        return err2(cp.Single(dest, src))
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
China's Quest for Iron
by sprasso_admin | Oct 12, 2022
Bloomberg Green
A consortium of China-connected companies is moving ahead with a plan that jeopardizes one of the most biologically rich ecosystems in Africa.
Website © 2023 Sheridan Prasso. Content on this site is copyright by its owners. Nothing from this site may be reproduced without permission from the original publications.
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text:
Let the Dream Chaser Fly Us Away Into Space
By Interesting Engineering
August 22, 2013 saw the Dream Chaser spaceship, designed by NASA partner Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) of Louisville, Colorado, successfully complete a two-hour captive-carry test, the second of such tests, at the space agency's Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.
[Image Source: Wikimedia]
An Erickson Air-Crane helicopter lofted a test version of the Dream Chaser flight vehicle a distance of three miles over a dry lakebed at Edwards Air Force Base, to an uppermost altitude of approximately 12,400 feet.
The commercial Dream Chaser has been designed to launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and ultimately provide launch services which would be able to transport NASA astronauts to the International Space Station from United States territory.
Mark Sirangelo, corporate vice president and head of SNC's Space Systems, said "Today is the first time we have flown a fully functional Dream Chaser flight vehicle, and we are very pleased with the results. Our team represents the very best in collaboration between industry and government. We have worked closely with NASA, Dryden, and the Air Force to reach this important milestone in our flight test program. We look forward to seeing Dream Chaser land on the same runway as the space shuttle orbiters once did as we move forward in the development of the next-generation crew transportation vehicle."
Ed Mango, NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP) manager, said "It's great to see real American-made hardware taking flight right here in the U.S. This is just the start of an exciting flight test campaign for SNC's Dream Chaser at Dryden."
The Passionate Cat Owner Wants to Send His Deceased Pet Into Space
SpaceX is Launching the Remains of 152 Dead People Into Orbit
Look to The "Skai": The Future of Flying Vehicles is Here
Robotic Flying Jellyfish Takes to the Air in This Video


The most important meal for the day is breakfast and what you take will determine whether you will have the needed energy to get through the day. However, this does not mean you have to combine the foods haphazardly to fill your stomach. You need fresh juice in the morning to get essential minerals and vitamins for nourishment because caffeine can produce unwanted effects when taking for long. Instead of buying these from the cafe, you should make in your home. With a blend, you can make as many varieties of smoothies and juices as you wish. To avoid annoying experiences while blending, you need to make sure the blender you are using is of a high quality. If you get a blender which doubles as a food processor, you will have an easy time preparing meals because processing everything at the same time will shorten the time needed in preparing your meal. The stores are full of blenders which come from different manufacturers and you ought to be diligent in choosing the right item.
Do not approach the experience blindly because you will be overwhelming and because there will be someone who has purchased the item before you, it is crucial to take the time to find out the experience they have had with the item upto that far before coming to a decision. When it comes to blenders, there are several types and knowing the one you want to purchase will make things simpler. There are so many reviews on different blenders out there and it might take you weeks to go through each and everyone of them but if you narrow down your search to a specific type then things get easier. Besides giving you fresh juice or smoothie, a blender experience is something you have to think about because it differs from brand to brand and it is through blender reviews that you will get to know what you are spending your money on.
Reviews do not only talk about the good things but also the bad and this means you will know what not to get. You should not have to spend money and waste time in order to realize a certain blender type or model is not suitable for your needs when there is someone who had already warned you about that. When you do not know the prevailing market value of the blender you have decided to buy, you can be duped into buying a low quality item at a high cost. You will not be conned when you know about the prices because it takes out the naivety of purchasing something because you love it and the seller has quoted a certain price. The previous buyers also list the blenders you should be watching for because they perform much better than the others.


The top schools in the December 2013 NLE can be viewed here.
NLE Schedule for year 2013.
The November 2015 NLE Results have been released!
The Professional Regulation Commission was first created as a national government agency by Presidential Decree (P.D.) No. 223 dated June 22, 1973.


Darjeeling 2nd Flush Sungma - Darjeeling Summer Loose Tea. This fine black tea is from the famous Darjeeling region of India; the highly regarded Sungma Eastate. Derjeeling tea is treasured for its rich golden liqour and distinctive flavor; muscatel (a type of grape). Darjeeling tea always 'looks like Fall' - brown, gold, green. This tea scores high on both counts. Bright and aromatic, floral muscat grape aroma, with warm spice notes and also sugary squash. Plush, tangy mouthfeel with a sweet finish and balanced astringency.
Health Benefits of Black Tea May assist in lowering cholesterol/Good for the Heart. Medical research suggests black tea promotes healthy teeth, skin and bones.
We suggest using 1 teaspoon of tea per 8oz of water. Heat water to 195-212 degrees and steep for 3-5 minutes. 2oz of tea equals 25-30 teaspoons. For stronger flavor simply use more tea leaves. Enjoy!


SAN FRANCISCO, October 10, 2017 – DaCast, the Streaming as a Service™ platform, reached 100,000 broadcasters today!
100,000 broadcasters are benefiting from our white-label online video platform delivering live and VOD streaming over Akamai CDN.
We are very happy about this news and would like to thank all our users for being part of this adventure with us!


I'm hitting the road with my mister, the pooches and my BFF, Christi York of Bueno Style (gorgeous reworked vintage jewelry) to take part in the 2012 Harrison Hot Springs Festival of the Arts. I participated in this event last year and had a really lovely time. This year it looks the weather is going to be gorgeous, the company is going to be fabulous and I'm feeling quite spoiled to have such a wonderful job! As far as working holidays go, this seems pretty tops, no?


First some hardout running through the forest searching like wackos for little plastic boxes to ram our sticks into, them some crazy running through the Massey campus likewise, then another run through the forest. Then the king and queen of the superseries will be crowned by our pet Danish court jester.
Remember that the races will probably assist selection for the test match in September, so psych up and bring your A game. Lots of running like the wind in a straight line and desperately trying to keep in control, or notice when the brain fade kicks in!
Then I've organised a party, show up or I'll feel like a dork, the venue is 619 Waitarere Beach Rd, starts afternoon after the event, we'll sort out some activity like hanging around like bogans and goths and scaring the locals...bring meat and beverages.. and by popular demand the theme has expanded to include those urchins of teen angst "emos", so you've got a choice between bogans, goths and emos, something there for everyone. Check out the squad blog http//osquad.blogspot.com for information on emos, videos of Goths and an example of the minimum kind of emoish allowed courtesy of Kenny Pain!
Awesome to be back at Naseby last weekend with James, Tane, Rita and several of the D Squad, its always a wicked challenge, thanks James for making this happen.
After the inaugural weekend last year in Taupo we all thought it was a good idea, so keen to make it happen again this year, one idea was in Rotovegas at around the same time as the Tough Guy/Gal, great fun race. As I'm out of the country would really like someone to volunteer to put it together, happy to help out as much as I can, let me know this weekend if you are keen.


In this case a picture is worth a thousand words. I want to first of all say I drank this beer, it was good. I've had better saisons that I liked a lot more, but this was good. For me it hit right in the middle of the great beer/bad beer continuum. It was drinkable. That said it tasted like a Pina Colada to me. Ok, it wasn't that sweet, but the banana esters were off the chart for me. It smelled like bananas and tasted like bananas from beginning to end.
This beer was a year old. Perhaps that had something to do with the flavor of this brew. Maybe during the aging process the beer went bananas. I don't know, but there really isn't a whole lot more to tell. I'm sure most of you have had this beer before. What did you think? Was it a banana bomb like mine, or perhaps I let it age too long before I drank it? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
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Interesting. I've never let a Hennepin sit for a period of time, always drank it fresh. Drinking it fresh I remember it not being as sweet, with very little banana flavor.
I wqonder if that didn't affect the flavor quite a bit Matt. I'll have to pick up another one and drink it fresh to see whether that has an impact on the flavor. Thanks for dropping by and commenting Matt.
I will have to pick one up now to see, Don!
Any excuse to pick up a beer from a normally good brewery is always well received, and acted upon swiftly!
Glad to be your excuse, if you need one. Hopefully it will be a little more multi-dimensional than the banana split I had.
Yeah Clayton, I know it was a long time, but it didn't taste like it had turned. But perhaps like IPAs fade over time maybe the same happens to saisons except the bananas move in.
I drink this beer often. It's my favorite commercially available Saison (unless you count Black Raven Brewing who only does theirs once a year and doesn't bottle it). Never have I once tasted bananas in it. Not even a hint. Might have to give this one another shot.
Yeah Evan, I think letting it sit for the year might have given it that fruity quality. I'll have to try it fresh and see if the flavor changes.
Had it during a sushi dinner with The Wookie, The Alemonger, and our wives. Also had some Duvel, Avery White Rascal, and Hitachino Nest White Ale. All were delicious and went well with our meal (wasabi fries! must have them again!). Don't remember the bananas, but I do remember it being a crisp and delicious beer. Then again, I was pretty toasty at the time. Will have to re-try this one.
Sounds like sushi pairing would be good. The more I hear back, the more I am convinced that the banana thing happened because I let it sit too long. I'll have to retry this one too.
No bananas and have been drinking it all week. I actually thought it was more floral and yeasty than sweet. and it had more of a dry malty sweetness rather than a fruit sweetness. I love it – give it another go. I'm new to Saisons – I've had this and New Holland's Golden Cap – which I thought was more fruity than the Hennepin. What's your favorite (Saison) ?
Justin, my favorite saison, hands down, was Avery 16th Anniversary beer. I think I bought about 10 of the bombers while they were here, but just like all good anniversary brews it vanished never to reappear. It was an amazing saison however.