text:
The music and the mirth of kings
attributable to the number of respectable persons who Are out of tune, unless she sings.
had arrived on its shores, bringing with them the Then close thine eyes in peace, and sleep secure
moral restrictions and principles of their native land, No sleep so sweet as thine, no rest so sure.
thus infusing life through the body of the population. The number of ministers who had come had also
tended, in a remarkable degree, to a change, which Miscellaneous.
was converting the land to a land of the living. AnoMANNERS AND Customs of the CUTCHEES.- They
ther cause was the establishment of schools for youth. are simple in their habits of life; their common food
The great proportion of the inhabitants who, until is rice, parched grain, or a few vegetables cooked with
within a few years, were given up to matters connect. a little ghee, and eaten with cakes of coarse flour ;
ed with their physical existence, now seemed more
devoted to the cultivation of their moral faculties, to the better sort of people sometimes indulge in curry and sweetmeats.
which good effect the press had, no doubt, by its influ. They profess themselves waterdrinkers, but are really addicted to the use of intoxi
ence, in some degree contributed.-Sydney Gazette,
Oct. 6, 1838. cating liquors, which they distil in all the villages from various vegetable productions. They drink also ST. ETHELDREDA'S CHAPEL, ELY PLACE, Holfreely of toddy, which is procured in large quantities BORN.- This beautiful chapel, which was formerly from the date and the cocoa-nut palm. Opium is attached to the palace of the bishops of Ely, in Holprepared by them, and used, both as kusumba and in born, has been an important place of worship for its simple state, in large quantities. It seems less upwards of five hundred years, the date assigned to injurious, however, than the Turkish drug, and its the building being the year 1320. It is still in effects are less perceptible. The men carry the opium excellent preservation, and has remarkably rich eastin little boxes about their persons, and take it at all
ern and western windows. Several distinguished times. With this means of refreshment they are prelates have preached in the chapel, and some have capable of great fatigue, and can journey long and
been consecrated within its walls. The last consecrarapidly without food, smoking as they go, and stopping tion which took place here was that of Dr. Edusund only for a draught of water from the numerous wells. Keene, bishop of Chester, on March 22, 1732. He The Cutchees appear to feel respect for the European afterwards became bishop of Ely; and during his character, and are obliging in their intercourse with us. time, in the year 1772, the estate, including the Amongst other notions of our superiority, they believe chapel, was alienated from the see for a certain conus all to be astrologers and doctors. In both astrology sideration, taken into the hands of the crown, and sold. and medicine, however, they have their adepts; and
Until the reign of King George II, the bishop's great men never hazard a journey without choosing a palace, which stood on the site of Ely Place, had been favourable co ction of the planets for their de the constant town-residence of the bishops of Ely. parture. There are no fewer than thirty-five hakeems Several of these prelates died here. Hollinshed states, or medicos in the city of Bhooj; but, unluckily for
that John of Gaunt, after the destruction of liis palace their fever-patients, not one Sangrado amongst them
in the Savoy by the mob, resorted to Lly Palace, all. In this strait the sufferers apply to a carpenter,
Holborn, where he died in 1399. The garden, where who has somewhere learned the art of phlebotomy, and
Hatton Garden now stands, produced the fine strawoperates on them with a phleme. They are equally at berries praised by the tyrant Richard, who asked a loss for dentists; and the absence of a polished key Bishop Morton for a "mess" of them on the morning is remedied by the use of a bent and rusty nail, urged
of Lord Hastings's murder. It also abounded in against the offending tooth by an unskilled practi roses in the reign of Elizabeth, who bestowed it on tioner. Not one of the sciences, either curious or Christopher Hatton, her chancellor, much to the conuseful, is known, even in its simplest elements, to cern and annoyance of the bishops; they losing therethese poor people; yet they shew a desire for infor by a comfortable residence in the metropolis, at a time mation, when one wiser than themselves excites their when their state duties, as well as those of an ecclecuriosity, which might, ably directed, prove a channel siastical nature, required a near attendance on the for their general improvement. As it is, they evince court. The exemplary and gifted John Evelyn rethat simple result of ignorance so common in uncivil cords his satisfaction at witnessing in this chapel, on ised minds, the confounding of great and small things
the 27th of April 1693, the marriage of his beloved with reference to the superior dignity of the former. daughter Susannah to Mr. Draper. The service was The remains of many specimens of great beauty prove performed by Dr. Tenison, bishop of Lincoln, asterthe Cutchees to have early possessed considerable wards archbishop of Canterbury, Evelyn, after deproficiency in some of the arts, especially those of cribing her as beautiful, learned, accomplished, and carving, sculpture, and design. I have already re
good, says,
" This character is due to her, though marked on the delicate skill of the goldsmithe, armo
coming from her father." Good Queen Anne, when rers, and embroiderers; and it is calculated to excite Princess of Denmark, wrote to Dr. Turner, bishop of surprise, that, uninformed as the Cutchees are, and Ely (one of the seven bishops), requesting him to unacquainted, by reason of their local position, as they secure her a place in his chapel on the following must be, with the arts practised in other more civil Sunday afternoon, that she might hear Bishop Ken (of ised provinces, they should yet prove such excellent Bath and Wells) "expound." In the year 1820 the workmen. A view, however, of the general policy of chapel was presented to tlie National Society by the Indian rulers, which has its influence in Cutch as
treasurer of that institution.--Ecclesiastical Gazette. elsewhere, explains this apparent difficulty. It was originally decreed, that only particular castes of men should practise particular arts, and that the exercise
TO CORRESPONDENTS. of these vocations should descend from generation to All Parnassus is in motion. We must entreat our poetical generation. In obedience to this law, the members friends to give us a litlle respite. of each family are trained to one art, in which they gain unusual expertness, and are enabled to produce
London: Published by JAMES BURNS, 17 Portman Street, articles of unequalled beauty.---Mrs. Postans's Sketches. Portman Square; W. EDWARDS, 12 Ave Maria Lane, St. AUSTRALIA.—Persons acquainted with the colony
Paul's; and to be procured, by order, of all Booksellers in Town of New South Wales twelve or fourteen years ago
and Country. could not but remark, at the present time, a great change in its aspect. This was, in a great measure,
RODSON, LEVEY, AND FRANKLYN, 16 ST. MARTIN'S LANE.
15 home is true that we are partakers
require the teaching of the Son of God to THE CHRISTIAN LAW OF HONOURING
raise the sentiments of true honour between ALL MEN.
man and man? Let men appeal to facts BY THE Rev. Thomas ENGLAND, M.A.
and experience for an answer; and if we Chaplain of Parkhurst Institution, Isle of Wight.
appeal to facts, and look to experience, we Among the many and inestimable blessings shall find it too true, that it did require such which Christianity affords, I regard as not teaching when St. Peter pronounced, "Honour the least the new sentiments with which it all men ;" and that even in the advanced teaches man to look upon his fellow-beings ; period in which we live, it does yet require the new light in which it places each indi- such teaching to enable men to live in true vidual in the eyes of his fellows; the new honour and respect one towards another. interest which it awakens in us towards
of a comevery thing buman; the new information mon nature; but it is a ruined and debased which it gives to the soul and the body : nature. We are creatures of the same God; and this beneficial change is to be accom but it is only to turn away from him, to forplished in no small measure by revealing to get him, and virtually to deny him. We are men their own nature and prospects, and intelligent and highly gifted beings; but it teaching them to honour all who partake is too often only to turn those things which them. But, it may be asked, Is it the fact should have been for our good into an occathat it is the character of the disciples of sion of falling. Hence the things which we Jesus Christ, and of those only, that they possess in common, so far from breeding a hold in true honour their fellow-men? Is common bond of esteem and honour, only the sentiment of respect and love for man serve to bring our race under one broad confined to the recipients of the Gospel? Is and universal charge of sin and ungodliness. not the belonging to a common nature; is Those countries, which have always been not the being creatures of the same God; is nearest to what we are accustomed to call not the being exposed to the same wants- a state of nature, are not in the state in the being oppressed with the same infirmi- which man was first created, but that to ties—the being inhabitants of the same un which he has been reduced by sin. If we certain and trying world, -an effective bond look at these heathen nations, what shall we of union, a sufficient source of honour and find ? We shall see that their life, instead respect among mankind? Is not the fact, of being a life of mutual honour, is a life of that they are all intelligent, and sometimes constant enmity and bloodshed. Their felhighly gifted, beings, endowed with reason, low-men, instead of being the objects of and intellect, and imagination, itself a source their affectionate interest, are objects of of constant friendship and honour? Surely their hostility, their cunning, their deceit, men need not be commanded to put on that and their cruelty. The Scripture faithfully character, which we should expect would be describes them, when it says, " They are their habitual distinction; surely it did not without natural affection, implacable, unVOL. VII, -NO, CXCI.
merciful." Among them the helpless child- shall find that practical and effectual benevoren and the aged parents are often exposed lence still remains the peculiar property of in the wilderness to perish with hunger, or those who are personally influenced by Chrisbecome the prey of wild beasts.
tian motives and Christian love. Or, if we leave such degraded beings, and There is, indeed, some degree of honour take our specimens of human nature from and esteem among worldly men-some degree countries more happily circumstanced, which of benevolence exerted by mere nominal have made some progress in the arts that Christians; nor could it be well otherwise adorn humanity, and in the knowledge which than that beings, fitted by moral feelings and ennobles it,- here we see, that verily there correct worldly motives, endowed with reason, is a power and a wisdom in man; and we and a strong principle of imitating what they notice the extent of the understanding which see in others, should do many acts of Christhe Almighty hath given him; we admire tian duty, when they are surrounded by those the exercise of his reason, and the vivacity who live under the influence of the Holy of his imagination, and the extent of his in Ghost, although they themselves are not tellectual powers; we acknowledge that there influenced by Christian motives. And even are, indeed, remnants left of the image of should it be instanced, that there are many God wherein he was originally made; but beautiful and lovely specimens of our imperstill, alas, we cannot fail to perceive, that fect nature, who are of high and honourable amidst all this mental richness the pure affec- character, of manly elevation, and also of tions of the soul are still wanting, the foun- lovely and amiable dispositions, who do good tains of real charity remain still dried up; to their fellows, and mingle their compassions and that all the glorious qualities of the and their charities with the unfortunate, and human mind fail to bring their possessors to yet do not come under the appellation of the esteem of their fellows, to the exercise of saints,--it will be acknowledged, that the pure and practical benevolence.
amiability and humanity of these people, Let those who would disparage the influ- their honour, and respect, and kindly feelings ence of Christianity over the human mind, for their fellows, extend no farther than to consider the public histories of the civilised their bodies and minds, look not beyond the nations of antiquity; let them study the cha- present life, have no regard to the souls of racter of the old Greeks and Romans, before their fellows. Alas! these fine specimens of they say, that man, with his own powers and our race scarcely look to their own souls: faculties, is sufficiently endowed with all he they esteem and pamper their bodies ; they wants to enable him to fulfil his duty both to make gods of their minds; but for their souls his God and to his neighbour. The civilised they have little concern. nations of antiquity,--high as they were in I have now instanced the most beautiful mental cultivation; splendid as are the fruits specimens of the unrenewed man to be found of their genius, in oratory, in poetry, and in in society. If we look at the great mass, we the arts,-form a striking contrast, even in shall see multitudes who are constantly on the outward appearance, to the state of a Chris- watch to ensnare and to ruin ; who entrap tianised land. They had laws, truly, to pro- the unwary for their fortunes, and yet maintect society against some crimes and offences; tain their stations of honour in worldly they devised means for the punishment of society; who in all cases of mutual intersome criminals--for otherwise the bonds of course consider only how their neighbours all society would have been loosed; but they may be made useful to their private interests; possessed no effective institutions for the who pursue all those tolerated artifices, and prevention of wickedness and vice. How, that legalised system of fraud, which pervade indeed, should they, when they had no ade- almost the whole mass of mercantile society. quate conception of what wickedness was, If we regard, in a word, the every-day transwhen they knew not the true nature of sin ? , actions of life, as they are commonly carried The whole of their land's population, from on in the world, we shall see whether he who the philosopher to the slave, dealt in prac sees the world, sees it actuated with good tices the most revolting, in inconsistencies motives, and glowing with true social affecthe most gross.
So true is it, that, after all tions ; or whether he beholds it wrapt up in that philosophy had disclosed, after all that selfishness, and dead to the real welfare of learning had achieved, it still remained for others. the Son of God himself to gather around him Men of the world generally value others a peculiar people, whose very distinction it in proportion as they may be benefited by should be, that they should have love one to them, or may have their own interests and another, as he had loved them; and if we convenience promoted. Beyond that point, appeal to facts and experience in this our they are careless and indifferent to them, i'n day, even in this Christian land, we thinking little of their present good, and still
less of their never-dying souls, and their the senators of the College of Justice, by the title of eternal salvation,
Lord Whitehill. The elder of the two daughters, On these grounds it may be said, that how- Catharine, married Alexander Scrogie, bishop of ever reasonable it might seem, however it Argyle; and the younger was united to Patrick Sibmight be expected, that they who are endowed bald, one of the ministers of Aberdeen. Henry
From his childhood with a common understanding, and gifted Scougal was the second son. with intellectual faculties, and dwell in one
he made great progress in learning of every kind ; common habitation, should universally be
and at the age of fifteen went to the university for influenced by mental respect and honour,
the usual course of four years' study. So high was --such is not really the fact : and we see
his reputation as a scholar, that he had scarcely
finished his duties as an academical pupil, when he thereby the indescribable benefits of the
was summoned to the honourable station of a problessed Gospel. The disposition which man
fessor, the functions of which he discharged for four so utterly wanted in himself; and the immor
years, until he entered holy orders, to serve God in a tality which would make him precious in the
more immediate relation than he had hitherto done. eyes of his fellows, Christ has given him ;
The preparation so necessary for him, who is to "seek and the Holy Ghost waits to engrast it in the for Christ's sheep that are scattered abroad in the hearts of all those who accept the gift, and midst of this naughty world," had been fully gone come unto the Father by Christ. By the through by Mr. Scougal. From his very infancy he divine plan, founded by the triune Jehovah manifested a character suited to the sacred office he for the redemption of mankind, we observe, was to hold. His father, having from the first inthat not only new feelings, new tempers, and tended hiin for the ministry, had watched the progress new dispositions, are implanted in the hearts of his disposition, and had the happiness of discoterof our race; but also that men are placed ing a growing meetness for the sacred station bis son before the eyes of their fellows in a new light. was to occupy. As a lad, he was singularly grave In his natural state, there is little in man to
and thoughtful, and little addicted to those pursuits, lead his neighbour to honour and respect which, however harmless, most children are taken up him ; but Christianity comes in and alters his with.. Boyish diversions had little charm for him; and whole appearance, both by renewing his heart
, when other lads were taken up with them, he would
withdraw himself from them, and engage in reading, and bringing forth to the view of his fellows
prayer, and serious reflection. This abstraction of his never-dying soul. Those whom God so loved, " that he gave
himself from puerile pursuits did not proceed from ill
humour or dulness, but from a peculiar solidity of his only-begotten Son, that all who believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting disposition, which made trifling pursuits uncongenial
to the bent of his disposition. A Christian poet has life ;' those whom Christ so loved, " that he
said, that left the bosom of the Father, and the glory wbich he had enjoyed from the beginning, that
Is no mean sacrifice." he might know and save them who were lost, Such was the tribute which this excellent man preand give his life a ransom for many;"—these sented to the "God of his life" in his youth, the early appear to the eye of a renewed creature in a
beginnings and first blossoms of which, no less than most important and interesting light,
its more mature periods, were tinctured with pitty.
He evinced at an early period an inquisitiveness men should be loved; for He hath loved them about sacred things; sometimes expressing his wonder who is the source and fountain of all love : (as children are wont to say, "I wonder") why altars, we are to love one another because He hath and sacrifices, and other ceremonies, were not still in first loved us.
use as in the days of the Mosaic law; at other times, he would employ himself in imitations of various
parts of divine service - preaching, and such like, Biography.
which shewed how strong was his bent towards the THE LIFE OF THE REV. HENRY SCOUGAL, M.A.*
employments of the sanctuary. This childish fond
ness for the "cutside" of religion was not all; he The father of the excellent man who is the subject of
read the Bible with interest; and when he was once the present memoir was Mr. Patrick Scougal, for some
seriously reflecting on his future course of life, what time minister at Salton, and subsequently Bishop of it should be, and anxious that it might be of a sort Aberdeen, which station he held for more than twenty that would advance his own salvation, while he was years from the Restoration. His wife was Margaret musing, he took up the Bible; and though he did Wemyss, the daughter of a gentleman in Fife: their
not allow himself in the practice (which is with some progeny was three sons and two daughters. John, the
persons a favourite one) of opening the Bible, and elder son, was commissary of Aberdeen; and was suc
fixing their minds on the first text that presents itself, ceeded in that office by his youngest brother James,
and then persuading themselves that that passage is who did not retain the commissariate, but sold it to
God's message sent expressly to them at that moment, Mr. Robert Paterson; and then was appointed one of
a habit which savours of fanaticism and presumption ; • See Bishop Burnet's Preface to Scougal's Works; and a
yet he could not but take notice of the words on Sermon at his funeral, by George Gairden, D.D.
which his eyes first lighted, nor fail to be impressed
"A flower when offer'd in the bud
Christianity gives us the true reason why ..*
by them; they were the words found at Psalm cxix. rience of his own unprofitableness, or by the felt 9:" Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? uncongeniality of the duties of the sanctuary to his by taking heed thereto, according to thy word." His habits and faculties. Let every father shun the rememory was very remarkable; and its powers were sponsibility that will rest on his own head, if he thus shewn in his being able to repeat several verses that " doom" the son to the Church, or the Church to rehad occurred in the daily reading of the Scriptures, ceive the son, if they be mutually unsuited: but when and in calling them to his remembrance some time he has carefully watched the gradual unfoldings of afterwards, when the passage was referred to; and he character; if, from what he sees of his heart and head, could give a general outline of any sermon he had he has good ground to perceive, with Eli of old, that heard, and describe its main drift; whereas most the " Lord hath called the child," then, but not otherchildren can only carry away with them particular wise, let him, like the aged prophet, direct the child to sentences, without having any idea of the address of remain tranquil amid the studies appropriate to a the minister as a whole.
future minister, until that more mature period of life, I alluded above to his habit of retiring from the when, if circumstances shall shew that God persists in company of the lads about him of his own age, for the summons, he may say with confidence, as Samuel more serious pursuits : and, as a proof that it did not was instructed to say, "Speak, Lord, for thy serrant arise from sullenness of character, he would not leave heareth." When a fitness of this kind, spiritual, moral, their society for mere solitude, but for that of more ma and intellectual, has grown with the growth of the ture minds. His father would often receive at his house possessor, no candidate need shrink from replying to ministers of serious piety; and he was seen to prefer the question which meets him at the threshold of his their society, and to listen with attention while they approach to the ministry—"Do you trust that you are were talking on religious and other weighty topics. | inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost to take upon you He also gave early symptoms of a greatness of mind, this office and ministration to serve God for the proand of a perception of what was grand in human cha moting of his glory, and the edifying of his people ?" racter and accomplishment; for instance, in learning "But the path of the just' (writes his biograLatin and reading the Roman history, he would retire pher, Dr. Gairden,) is as the shining light, which with those of his sclioolmates who had the best abili shineth more and more unto the perfect day. These ties; and having composed little orations, after the were the early dawnings of piety and goodness, which idea of those in the history, he would act the part of appeared in him in those first years of his age, before the Roman senator, and "speak the speech." In learn he came to this corner of our land, and there became ing generally he made unusual progress. Of Latin he still more manifest and apparent. When his improvebecame master so as to read and write it with ele ments had now fitted him for the university, he here gance; and in Greek, Hebrew, and some other east gave further proofs of a pious disposition and a capaern languages, he became a considerable proficient; as cious understanding. He was far removed from those well as in history, geometry, and the other parts of levities and foolish customs, those little animosities and mathematical study. Logic, too, he studied with effect, strifes, which the inconsiderate youth are sometimes for he had a good head and clear judgment; and so guilty of; but was even then grave and staid in his early did his taste for that subtle but improving study deportment, as was observed by all, yet free and unafshew itself, that, when in his boyhood, be overheard fected. The learning that was then in fashion, though some young men, who had lately gone to the univer he saw quite through it, yet it did not satisfy his undersity, discussing some points connected with that art, he standing; nor could he perceive its use, save to wrangle caught up quickly from their conversation the nature pro and con about any thing. He was desirous to dive of a syllogism, and could with ease construct one upon into the nature of things, and not be involved into a any subject that was given him.
strife of hard words, and a maze of nice distinctions: Such was his disposition, and such the development and therefore, by his own proper industry and priof bis mind and heart at that early period of his life ; vate study, he became, even then, master of that and, whilst we must refer this moral and mental pro. philosophy which has now got such footing in the ficiency to the blessing of God, sent in answer to the world; besides a singular proficiency he made in the prayers of his anxious parent; yet, as far as second several parts of mathematics, in history, and other causes were concerned, it was due to his father's human learning. But he was always careful to beware judicious care; and is calculated to animate any of any philosophy, or false knowledge, that was apt to parent in the discharge of his duty towards his child. have a bad influence on the mind, and debauch the Never let him "force" the character of a child; never spirit, as to a right sense of God and religion; and let him destine that child for a line of life requiring never suffered himself to be tainted in the least with qualities of mind and heart that do not seem to be pos such. And there was nothing that more endeared sessed by the child; and least of all, let him resolve to any philosophical truths to him than when they gave "make a parson" of a boy that has but a dull capacity, / right apprehensions of God, and just thoughts of and furnishes no tokens of being a subject of God's morality and virtue. His mind being always comgrace. By such predestinings as these, our Church posed to a religious temper, he even then made it bis has suffered much, it is to be feared, in times past. business, by the frequent reading of the most pious Many a clergymnan has thus been inflicted on a parish and useful books, and a happy conversation, sanctified for a series of years, without one of the qualifications by a constant devotion and unprejudiced mind, to that belong to a "good minister of Jesus Christ;" and frame to himself, amidst the various opinions and disthe life of the individual thus thrust into the sacred tractions of Christendom, right apprehensions of reli"ice has been made unhappy, either by the expe- / gion, and accordingly to suit his practice; so that


The Doctor and her friends uncover Jeff Bezos' next plan is a bit more sinister than just a more expensive prime delivery.
There's a moment in "Kerblam!" where Jodie Whittaker's Doctor does something she's never done before, but her past selves have. She barges into a scene and demands answers, lest the villain of the week face her wrath. After, she asks her companions if the bombast suited her—and it almost felt like she was asking the audience, too.
We're a good chunk through Doctor Who's 11th season at this point, and it's clear that the show itself is still undergoing the same regenerative process the latest incarnation of the Doctor is undergoing. It's less about the new look now—which the show still absolutely delivers on, this week managing to make a series of warehouses look beautifully epic in the way a warehouse never should—and more about the show finding what works and what doesn't, and where it wants to be in the vast pantheon of things Doctor Who can be. It's still cooking, just like the 13th Doctor. And in both respects, it's been fascinating to watch this process play out at a much slower burn than it usually does on Doctor Who.
"Kerblam!"—a deliciously dark double entendre of a title, as we'll come to see—however, is something a bit different entirely: it's really season 11's first attempt at trying to find a common ground between these two disparate approaches to Doctor Who's particular take on socially-minded science fiction. The common ground it finds is in a well worn Doctor Who conceit—taking a very present concern and extrapolating it to its potential outcome in the far future.
In this case, the concern is Amazon.com—well, literally the concern is with Kerblam, a fictional online retailer on the planet Kandoka that the Doctor and her friends are pointed to after a request for help shows up right in the TARDIS. But Kerblam itself is a galactic retailer with a majority-robotic workforce in a time of labor crisis for Kandoka, a business that's all about insipid pencil pushers spouting people-positive buzzwords at the same time it denies its human workers the benefits of unionization, uses silicon valley technology to push said workers to extremely demanding levels for the sake of an endless chase for productivity, and then proceeds to also use that technology to slowly but surely replace those workers through convenient automation. All "Kerblam!" needed was a sinister bald billionaire to stalk around in the background looking for somewhere to "disrupt" with their new HQ plans and the pastiche would've been truly complete, but here we are instead with Not-Amazon.
So yes, while "Kerblam!" arguably has just as potent a message—that maybe we shouldn't trust billionaire retailers to solve literally all the ills of society while also getting us cheap crap on one day delivery—as with the other more "serious" episodes of season 11, it's all one step removed, or given an extra layer of sci-fi artifice that softens the absorption of that message a bit. It's not a petrifying devotion to the almighty algorithm crushing workers, it's killer robots! It's not the system that's gone wrong, the system's...actually grown a heart of its own and is trying to prevent some galaxy-scaled terrorism?
And there's plenty of fun to be had there—the Kerblam Man androids and their ever-smiling faces and robotically pleasant demeanor are a great creepy monster when you start realizing they're making workers disappear, and the idea of killer bubble wrap (laced with millions of nano-bombs) hidden in packages is both chillingly prescient and a devilishly good spin on Doctor Who's beloved pastime of taking something banal and familiar and turning it into something alien and petrifying. Throw in an unnecessary but hilariously Star Wars-ian adventure through a conveyor belt tube system for Ryan and Yaz, and "Kerblam!" reaches dangerously high levels of proper good Doctor Who-ness for much of its runtime.
But in its chase to add some of the allegorical spectacle back into this message-driven season of Doctor Who, "Kerblam!" trips up right as it's about to tie everything together. The climax reveals that Kerblam and its automated intelligence isn't really behind the missing workers that brought the Doctor and her friends there in the first place, but instead the unsuspecting janitor Charlie—an undercover agent who, by hijacking hundreds of Kerblam Man delivery robots to deliver explosives-laden bubble-wrapped parcels to people on Kandoka, hopes to a) create a PR nightmare that forces Kandoka labor laws to increase the number of human workers and solve an economic crisis gripping the system; and b), more distressingly, kill millions of innocent people while doing so. Which...is a bizarrely anti-worker stance for Doctor Who to take out of its subtly-unsubtle critique of Amazon!
But it's not actually the point "Kerblam!" wants to make, and that's its big problem. During Charlie's reveal of his subterfuge, the Doctor makes the episode's real point, that it is not the technology itself that is the cause of oppression—in fact, in Kerblam's scenario, the system developed a heart for its mistreated human workers and sent the plea for aid to the Doctor in the first place—but the humans at the top of the chain using its benefits to exploit the humans at the bottom. Humans that we don't actually ever see in the episode because the two pencil-pushers the Doctor does brush up against in her investigation also turn out to be caring people who helped investigate the plight of the missing workers Charlie nabbed as test subjects for his bombs. It doesn't give a face to the actual villain of its story, so if you aren't taking everything in, it ends up painting a unintentionally misguided picture.
So unfortunately, instead of being the truly great episode of Doctor Who it came so close to being, "Kerblam!" is merely a mostly-good one that, in trying to find a blend between the message-driven storytelling this season has championed and the traditional sci-fi adventure allegory of Doctor Who's storied past, trips up at just the wrong moment. But it comes so very close to bridging those two sides to Doctor Who that, in a season that's still trying to find itself—much like the Doctor herself still is, trying on accoutrements and vernaculars of her past—that you can't help but admire a lot of the efforts behind its muddled messaging, even if it never quite completes that bridge.
And remember, if you want it...err, Kerblam it.
The epilogue of the episode sees Judy and Slade celebrating that, in light of avoiding a cataclysmic act of terror, Kerblam's employees are getting a mere two weeks paid off and a free shuttle back to Kandoka while the damage done by the explosive bubble wrap is repaired (which will take a month, so the workers don't even get all that off!). Although Judy comments to the Doctor that she'll make a proposal the company moves to being an organic-majority workforce—which, technically in shrewd business terms, that just means they only need 51 percent of the workforce to be human—it feels like less of a celebration and more of a dire warning that maybe Kerblam didn't learn its lesson all that well. God, those employees need a union, ASAP.
This episode has some very cute callbacks to past Doctors, with both the delivered Fez—the look on Jodie Whittaker's face as she puts it on is priceless—and the nod to "The Unicorn and the Wasp" when the Doctor mentions her experience with Agatha Christie. In a series that's done a lot to avoid those sorts of nods, it was a nice little moment.
I'm honestly surprised how graphic poor Kira's death-by-bubble-bomb was. The episode needed it for the stakes, but...oof, even if it wasn't gruesome, it was actually still really disconcerting. A good, proper Doctor Who kill, that!


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April 22, 2019	By Javier Castaño
Source: Queens Latino
The Peruvian Condor Flies over NYC This Week
The cast of "El Cóndor Pasa: Andean Hope" and organizer of the musical in New York María S. Aller-Narváez at the Peruvian Consulate in New York. (Photo by Javier Castaño)
With the Virgin of Cusco as background and to the rhythm of the donkey jawbone, director Dante Valdez spoke about the importance of the musical "El Cóndor Pasa: Andean Hope."
The concert will take place on Thursday, April 25, at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts in Lower Manhattan.
"It is the first time we will be bringing together authentic Peruvian music with a symphonic orchestra," said Valdez. "The condor is the great South American symbol, and I want to add that life in the Andes is an alternative; there is no need to move to the big cities."
Valdez spoke exclusively to QueensLatino at a press conference held in the Peruvian Consulate in New York. "We are a team of 100, and we are going to demonstrate that art and music are the weapons we need to unite the Latin American peoples," he said.
"This show symbolizes the cultural depth and the wholesomeness of Peru," said Consul General for Peru in New York Marita Landaveri, the main organizer of the concert.
Roberto Bocanegra, director of the musical, said that he wants to surprise spectators with world-class soloists through a play inspired by the chaquitaclla, a foot plow used during the Inca empire. "It is a play that focuses on human beings, on respecting the land, and that exalts Andean places where no one has been," said Bocanegra.
In the show, the condor arrives in representation of humans, of community, to face Sajra, the demon in the Quechua language. Bocanegra said that three elements survive from the Andean culture: the concept of solidarity, or ayni; the family group, or ayllu; and minka, a celebration in which we can all collaborate for the common good."
"This solidarity characterizes the Inca peoples," he said, "and that is why we have invited artists from other nationalities."
One of them is Marco Matute, a tenor and actor from Honduras, who said that the show expresses "the love for nature and the Andean hope." Ghana-born singer Kofi Hayford will summon the "Andean apus" or spirits of the mountains.
Top-notch Andean instrument musicians have flown to New York to take part in the show. Manuel Lito Ramos will play the quena and other wind instruments, and Gustavo Valdez will be in charge of the traditional Peruvian cajón.
"The show displays the qualities of Peru," said Aurora Ayala, art director and set designer. "We are not doing folklore. We will be showcasing the south of Peru all the way to Ayacucho, with beauty and color."
(…) This cultural event is promoted by María S. Aller, and will feature the United Nations Symphony Orchestra (UNSRC).
Tags: Peru, Skirball Center
Arts Program Helps Immigrant Youth Express Themselves May 29, 2019
Boricua Pride, and a New Currency, at Loisaida Fest May 28, 2019
Brooklyn DA Celebrates Asian Community May 28, 2019

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


How would you describe your relationship? Fun? Quirky? Fantastically romantic? A wedding film should be more than the sweeping closeup and dramatic music. It should be utterly and totally you. We make sure we capture the moments that move both of you, and weave it into a story with thoughtful, tasteful music, and the candid moments that made up a day that went by way too fast.
Pictures tell only half of your story, let us tell the rest. There is a uniqueness to every couple in the world and you have a story to tell, let us be the pen and paper to yours.


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{{translations['home'].capitalizeFirstLetter()}}	» Blackjack Online	» Blackjack - A game of luck or skill
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Blackjack - A game of luck or skill?
Play blackjack online at EuroGrand Online Casino
A great debate rages around whether casino blackjack is a game of luck or skill. Some insist that it comes down to luck as the cards are randomly dealt while others maintain that skilful strategic blackjack play will lower the house edge and give you the best possible results regardless of the hands you are dealt.
The argument gets so intense on some player forums that just reading the justifications for each side are enough to make your head hurt. And the answer? It's really both luck and skill that influence the outcome of each hand.
Luck, in the cards you are dealt, and skill in knowing how to play whatever cards you're dealt in order to maximise your profits or minimize the expected loss inherent in the hand. Ultimately that is what it comes down to, no matter what each side of the debate may say. If you play with no inkling of blackjack strategy at all, then it will be a game of luck, but if you take the time to learn the moves for each hand and situation, then you'll move into the realm of skilful play and with that of course, comes profit.
When playing the game of blackjack, being dealt a decent number of blackjack hands is critical to success not only are these hands wins, but when you're playing a game that pays 3:2 like you should always do, these payouts lower the house edge significantly. If we look at the statistics, in standard 8 deck blackjack games, the player will achieve blackjack once in every 22 hands, or around 4.5% of the time. The same applies to dealers, however blackjack players earn an additional 50% of their bet while the dealers only claim what is wagered. So if you multiply the added 50% of your wager by the frequency of hitting blackjack, the 2.25% result is the decrease in what would otherwise be the house advantage.
If you happen to be lucky enough to be dealt blackjack more often than once in every 22 hands, the payouts can multiply rapidly and the house edge can quickly tilt in your favour. Of course the opposite is also true and you may achieve fewer than 4.5% which can quickly eat into your bankroll.
When it comes to blackjack hands two issues are raised - firstly whether to play games with lower than 3:2 payouts because they offer other features, and secondly whether to use the insurance option when the dealer is showing an ace. Doing this returns the advantage to the house but you're guaranteed even money which is sometimes more appealing to players, even though not opting for insurance is statistically not in your favour with nine ways to earn 3:2 payouts versus four to push and none to lose.
Another important factor in skilful blackjack play is the basic strategy pertaining to doubling. You will generally have the opportunity to double once in every 10 hands or 9.6% of the time. You will need to win a fair share of these doubled hands due to the amount of money at risk on these bets, and that doesn't always happen which can be disastrous. Yet, statistically the odds are in your favour and players usually enjoy the edge on doubles.
Split pairs are another play in which skill should be exercised to induce and advantage. Splits occur one in approximately 39 hands or 2.6% of the time. When playing according to sound blackjack strategy, 67.5% hold a positive expectation, with the remaining 32.5% breaking even or losing more money than they make you.
Of course, it may seem odd to split pairs if they are projected to lose almost a third of the time, but the average loss in these instances is lowered by the split than any other alternative plays offer. So while the casino's edge is not voided, it is lowered.
In total, doubles and splits occur once in every 8 hands or 12.2% of the time during a game. Blackjack, both contested and uncontested hands account for 4.7% of the hands, which means that blackjack strategy dictates standing on one in every 2.5 hands or 40% of the game and hitting ever 2.4 hands, or 42.2%.
While it may be easier to stand with a hand value of 20 when facing a weak dealer upcard, not all plays are this comforting and you have to adhere to strategy, standing with 16 against a dealer's 3, knowing full well you're likely to lose rather than win. It's all about playing the numbers.
Some hits are weak - if you're holding 16 against the dealer's 7 you may hit and win, but it's not that likely and the numbers are against you on this one. Sometimes strong hits are just as conflicted. Hitting on a nine when facing a seven has a solid 17% positive expectation but that's hardly a sure win.
Sometimes luck will be on your side, and sometimes it won't but strategy will always win out in the end - the statistics exist to prove it. Still it comes down to each individual's level of skill in applying it.
Victor (victor@casinotestreports.com)
casinotestreports.com


To curve drug trafficking in the state, the Himachal Pradesh government has decided to start State level Campaign to tackle drug mafia.
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, in his address at Dah-Kulara in Indora assembly segment of Kangra district, asked the law and enforcement agencies in bordering areas of Himachal needs to maintain strict vigil and directed to capture culprits involved in any type of drug smuggling in the State.
He said the anti-national forces believe in catching the 'youth at young' and make them addicted to drugs with a motive of shaking the very base of development and upliftment of the society, but he would not let this happen in Himachal Pradesh, CM further added.
The Chief Minister also exhorted the people to be aware of divisive forces, which divide the people on basis of region and religion and said that Himachal was one and will remain so and he will not let communal forces to divide the State. " I am a peace loving person and if anyone is found trying to disturb the peace of the State and try to divide the people on caste, colour, region and religion, I won't spare such anti-social elements", he declared.
Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, DC Kangra Ritesh Chauhan, SP Abhishek Dullar, Director Industries Rajinder Singh, Director Higher Education Dinkar Burathoki were also present on the occasion amongst others.


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College of Law > About > News > LLSA President Jesus Diaz ('23) "Pays it Forward"
LLSA President Jesus Diaz ('23) "Pays it Forward"
By Brett Davinger / September 15, 2021 / Posted in: Student News / Twitter / Facebook
Latino Law Student Association (LLSA) President Jesus Diaz ('23) continuously gives back to the Latino/a communities that shaped him into who he is today. According to prior LLSA President Matt Sanchez, "From the very early stages of his legal career, Jesus already has made an active effort to mentor and support young Latino and Latina students interested in pursuing law school. I am confident that he will be an asset to the LLSA family and to the legal profession as a whole." Agreeing with Sanchez, Ana Vazquez-Rivera, director of diversity, inclusion and student life at the College of Law, says, "Jesus stood out as a student leader during his very first semester of law school. He showed his commitment to recruiting more diverse students to DePaul when he assisted me with a virtual admissions program as a volunteer for the national organization sponsoring the event."
To Diaz, Hispanic Heritage Month is "an opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of the Latino community in the United States, across many professions." These include role models, such as his parents, "who left everything in Mexico so that my siblings and I could have the opportunities they did not have," and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, "another first-generation law student from the Bronx, New York, like me!" He also plans to continue to support the Hispanic community by frequenting small, Hispanic-owned businesses and aiding Hispanic law students who wish to attend law school.
Diaz' prior exposure to the law and lawyering – and its impact on vulnerable communities - led him to DePaul Law. Diaz attended The City College of the City University of New York where he majored in political science and government and graduated magna cum laude. It was seeing the effects of "stop and frisk" policies while in New York City that initially inspired him to go to law school. "I observed how 'stop and frisk' [policies] affected communities of color, especially in the Bronx," remembers Diaz, "and I was intrigued by the civil rights lawyers who spoke against those policies.'"
After finishing his undergraduate degree, Diaz joined an immigration law firm in Cicero, Illinois, where he worked on family law petitions and DACA and citizenship applications. He also spoke on several community board panels about being a first-generation college student and gave tips on applying to law school; he also volunteered with the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute's National Conference.
As a DePaul Law 1L, he was a First Generation Law Student Organization representative and a summer legal intern with Children's Legal Center in Chicago, and after a successful social media campaign, he was elected central regional director of the National Latino/a Law Student Association (NLLSA) during its March 2021 national conference. He considers this a particular point of pride, noting: "I am the first DePaul law student to be elected to the NLLSA executive board, and I hope I am not the last."
Diaz acknowledges the importance of LLSA in his life. His decision to run for president came from his desire to "pay it forward," as LLSA was a great resource for him even before starting law school. As president, one of his main goals is to follow in the footsteps of previous LLSA presidents and execute a great Illinois LLSA Forum featuring Latinx attorneys from a variety of fields. The annual Forum works to increase the Latinx presence in the legal community, and as Diaz explains, "the LLSA Forum is special to me; I attended the event before I started law school. It was my first networking event in Chicago, and I met law students who would become great friends and mentors. As [LLSA] president, I hope other pre-law students get the same experience I had."


What's your experience at OCAD and how has it changed you?
"OCADU is filled with people other places will call strange. Look at the person beside you. Now shake their hand. For the next four years you will be making friends like them. At OCAD, we embrace that."


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I must admit I haven't seen a single episode of Doctor Who before I visited England in the summer of '09. While there, I stayed with two friends whose living-room-turned-my-bedroom was no less than a temple to Doctor Who, with long lines of DVDs lining the walls and a couple of Daleks standing guard by my sofa-bed. One evening I reached a blind hand to probe the floor for something to read before bed, felt something glossy and, guess what, fished out a Doctor Who Magazine. With Tom Baker and a couple of Daleks staring at me, I realized that unless I wanted to be exterminated, I had to give the show a decent examination.
My hosts were only too eager to oblige – beginning lightly with the Doctor-lite episode Blink and from there introducing me to the Daleks and the Master. My first impression from the show was ambivalent; I enjoyed it, and yet I felt that something wasn't quite right. In order to get to the bottom of this mystery, I decided that as soon as I returned home and was safely removed from the evil of the Daleks, I would give the show a proper viewing and establish an independent opinion, free from 40 years of cultural influence and the judgmental stare of Tom Baker.
There's a team every PC would love to play against!
As a fanatic gamer and freelance RPG writer, the first thing that appealed to me about the show were its originality and ingenuity when inventing monsters and villains– the quantum angels from "Blink", Lady Cassandra from "The End of the World," the Abzorbaloff from "Love and Monsters" and many others. Man... if not for a little thing called "copyright infringement," I would use every single one of those in my adventures. They are just brilliant!
Another strong aspect of the show was the acting – by Eccleston (whom I already adored from "Revenger's Tragedy") and Tennant both who delivered very interesting characters, full of chutzpah and a patronizing sense of justice on the one hand, but also incredibly lovable and even enviable (even among us, the inventors of the chutzpah) on the other.
Now read the last two paragraphs again, because this is the last of the positive comments you are going to see in this article. Ladies and gentlemen and Daleks, prepare to meet the dark side of Doctor Who!
From the beginning of the second series, there was something that really annoyed me and that I couldn't quite pinpoint – yes, there were many plot holes, deux ex machina solutions and a great amount of story recycling, but these are all unavoidable in a show this long. Then it hit me – the show repeatedly advocates suicide as a way to solve problems!
First of all, the show preaches for "suicide solutions," even more than the most vehement extremist imam. In the writers' desire to have as many characters as possible sacrifice their lives for the good cause (aka "kill themselves"), they seem to haven thrown common sense out of the window. The optimum of this campaign of extermination was during the episode "The Doctor's Daughter" when a humanoid fish that spent its whole life fighting humans bent on the complete genocide of its race had drowned itself to save a human female it met by chance about twenty minutes ago. Wait! What? A FISH had DROWNED itself? Does it even make any sense?! As much this physically absurd, the ethics behind this action are even stranger; the nameless fish was not sacrificing itself to save its race or its friends or even a large group of people – it traded its life to save one perfect stranger. This is the equivalent of you spotting a shootout between two gangs and running to its midst in hopes of catching a bullet meant for... someone.
But let us return to our main point, which is the writers' blatant disregard for human life. While the doctor values human life above all, an admirable quality in someone who is basically an alien naturalist visiting a new environment, everyone else seems to value it somewhat less than a morning muffin. Carrying out a suicide operation of one sort or the other seems to almost always be the first solution attempted. Because killing yourself is never the result of prolonged and painstaking deliberations, but simply an element of normal human interaction, the amount of suicides in the show is simply staggering.
Some episodes go so far as to cram in more than one suicide, making the Doctor's journey feel more like a game of Lemmings than a sci-fi adventure. An especially guilty party in that regard was the Christmas special "Voyage of the Damned" that featured no less than three suicides, possibly due to the fact that a suicide occurs on average every twenty minutes in the Doctor's life and the episode lasted for about an hour.
Of these suicides the first one is a classic – the grotesque red dwarf is nobly sacrificing his life to save the belle-de-jour he loves and his companions. Fair enough.
Then we have the fat woman suicide-killing the robotic angel who threatens the people who just minutes ago failed to save her beloved husband. One could argue that since she already has him bound and standing on a wracked bridge strewn with massive planks, it would have been equally effective to tie him to one of those planks and then push it down. But then, one could also argue that she was traumatized by the loss of her husband whose death really was just a tragic accident or that bending down to tie a rope to a piece of metal might have been too much trouble compared to simply jumping into a flaming inferno. O.K. We'll let it pass too.
But then we have the lovely Astrid carrying out a suicide attack, more or less identical to the infamous Jerusalem bulldozer attack of July 2, 2008, against the episode's villain. And that really pushed me over the edge!
While it may seem as a noble act of self-sacrifice done to save the Doctor and the population of the Earth, it is important to note that the Doctor, with his sonic screwdriver and superhuman intellect, seems to be more than capable of dealing with any mechanical threat... unless there is someone handy nearby to die for him. Examples are endless – the wood woman from "The End of the World," the formerly villainous Lady Cassandra in "New Earth," the again formerly villainous Luke Rattigan in "Poison Sky", River Song in the "Forest of the Dead," Sky in "Midnight," Harriet Jones (you know who she is...) in "The Stolen Earth..." the writers of the show seem to employ more suicide-solvers than Osama Bin-Laden!
The Doctor himself, no hypocrite he, repeatedly tries to sacrifice himself to solve various problems despite being a unique, 900 year old creature with no particular stake at any specific place or period. He never succeeds in it, however, because there is always someone nearby even more eager to die. Now honestly; how many of you are willing to sacrifice their lives after a proper volunteer has already been found, just so that he won't have to? Seriously, it's not a rhetoric question – how many? You can comment below - maybe I'm the only one around here who would rather drink a cup of hot chocolate than jump out of a fast moving train while hugging a monstrous alien?
There were several actually. All in Jerusalem.
Well, i'd say the lesson is one shouldn't analyze tv shows for logic applicable in the real world.
And please don't be one of those who argue that everything has to espouse positive examples.
It's like an article i came across recently about the phenomen in comics called "women in refrigerators". The writer was complaining about violence against women in comics. Not against that the violence was quickly thrown aside or anything but that it was done at all and worse that it was done against women.
I suppose you're right about some points. I was annoyed to no end by Astrid's suicide attack too, and joke constantly about the show's Redshirt problem.
What I do have to say is that the screwdriver appears to be incoherent in its ability, but appears to only affect delicate machinery. So in more than several cases, there's the fact that the screwdriver may not be enough, not to mention the doctor may got shot at. We saw how well that works out during Season 4.
So I agree on some level with your claim, but I also think you're exaggerating the Doctor's power.
Erik, this is true, but I feel those don't have internal logic as well.
Anaxim, Yeah, my comments referred more to season 1-3. I stopped watching in the beginning of season 5.
Yes, well... I... ok, fair enough.
As Erik says, the suicides did go down a fair amount after Steven Moffat took over as show-runner. But even more interestingly, the fact that so many people throw themselves into death on the Doctor's behalf becomes a major plot point, which is still being played out.
I tried to see your point, but it's hard with all the Muslim bashing comments. I think your piece would be a lot better without them. As it stands it just makes you seem rather bigoted.
Zenten, would you be so kind as to point me toward the offending line? It seems all I did was mention the existence of Islamic suicide bombers, which is neither praising, nor bashing - merely a fact. Also, why just Muslim, isn't the article also bigoted against Christians (sacrifice!), Japanese (kamikaze), Jews (cwak suicide squad) and Doctor Who?


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Enviro Updates
Resources for the environmental community
Environmental Center of Sonoma County
SCCC
EC Calendar
Russian River at Steelhead Beach.
Author SuzannePosted on June 8, 2019 July 6, 2019 Categories Habitats, WildlifeTags bobcats, conservation, mountain lions, safety
Sonoma Valley zoologist seeks creative ways to save mountain lions — and the planet
Austin Murphy, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
The day after a young male mountain lion made national news by paying a visit to the Santa Rosa Plaza in April, Quinton Martins ventured a guess as to why the feline ended up at the mall.
"Maybe he was going to the Apple Store to upgrade his Sierra," deadpanned Martins, a big cat expert with a doctorate in zoology, a robust sense of humor and some unconventional ideas about how best to save the planet.
He followed that one-liner with a slew of scientific analysis. But the quip was vintage Martins, whose public relations instincts are as sharp as his tranquilizer darts. He is the South African-born founder of Glen Ellen's Living With Lions, a project he leads for Audubon Canyon Ranch. One of his missions is to educate landowners, to show them that it's better to coexist with apex predators than it is to shoot them.
With the help of volunteers and veterinarians on his team, Martins traps the big cats and collars them, allowing the public to monitor their movements and, in a way, get to know them. Not everyone is on board with this marketing-based approach.
"He's told us many times he wants his animals to be media stars," said Greg Martinelli, lands program manager for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. "There's a difference between science and advocacy." With Martins, he thinks, "those lines are a little blurred."
Martins, for his part, makes no apologies for his unorthodox approach.
"Obviously we need to keep doing science," he said. "But we have enough scientific information to know that the environment is in a desperate state, and something drastic needs to be done."
The man who seeks nothing less than to overhaul and defibrillate the conservation movement grew up in Welkom, South Africa, which he describes as "a crappy gold-mining town" 90 miles northeast of Bloemfontein. His happiest hours were spent outdoors, camping and fishing with his father.
"We used to go to some pretty cool, wild places, to go fishing," Martins said. "I remember the connection to nature, just sitting quietly, enjoying that peace.
Read more at https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/9652183-181/sonoma-valley-zoologist-seeks-creative
Author SuzannePosted on January 18, 2019 January 28, 2019 Categories Forests, HabitatsTags conservation, logging, redwoods
Save the Redwoods League releases book on state of redwood forests on 100th anniversary
Meg McConahey, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
… California's state tree is not out of the woods. More than a million acres of redwood forests remain unprotected, managed for timber. And even the protected forests' health is threatened by the degraded land surrounding them, Hodder said. Some forests have been logged multiple times. Among the league's current initiatives is to help existing forests regenerate, a difficult task considering the complexity of the old growth ecosystems that developed over millennia.
They are among the most awe-inspiring natural wonders of the world. As Mother Nature's skyscrapers, redwoods are among the tallest living things on the planet — the most gargantuan approaching 400 feet. And although not the oldest — the bristlecone pine has a longer lifespan by a good measure — the most senior denizens of the redwood forests were alive during the lifetime of Julius Caesar.
Today, less than five percent of the original 2.2 million acres of coast redwood forests, which once covered the Northern California and Southern Oregon coast for more than 200 million years, still survive.
It took a scant 150 years for loggers and then major timber companies to fell California's primeval forests. But one organization, the Save the Redwoods League, can be credited with helping to preserve what was left of these titans that had flourished since the days of the dinosaurs.
The conservation organization, which claims credit for helping to preserve 212,000 acres of coast redwoods and their cousins, the giant sequoias that inhabit the western slope of the Sierra, is celebrating its centennial, and marking the event with publication of a new book, "The Once and Future Forest: California's Iconic Redwoods."
Read more at https://www.pressdemocrat.com/lifestyle/9162305-181/save-the-redwoods-league-releases
Author SuzannePosted on July 1, 2018 August 12, 2018 Categories Land Use, WildlifeTags conservation, housing shortage, Sonoma Developmental Center, wildlife corridor
SDC study recommends confining development to existing campus
Chris Lee, KENWOOD PRESS
For more information about the site: Transform SDC
A conceptual plan for the future of the Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC) proposes large portions be designated for wildlife corridors and natural areas, with any new development confined to the existing central campus. This outline was presented at a June 23 "community workshop," hosted by the consulting firm Wallace Roberts & Todd (WRT), authors of a pending 3,000-page "Existing Conditions Report," to offer a preview of its findings. Some 200 people attended.
The material that was presented focused primarily on the results of surveys and community outreach about the 860-acre campus, and an inventory of campus land and buildings. Notably, the land use proposal was presented as a recommendation from the consulting firm, not merely an expression of public opinion. "This is a framework for how we think the conversation should move forward," WRT Principal Jim Stickley said.
The community input that informed the study was more direct. "A large hotel or resort would be seen as a failure," said Tania Carlone, a facilitator for Consensus Building Institute, a subcontractor of WRT. "The general feeling was that there is a saturation of luxury homes, of tourism. Folks were consistently concerned that the development in the core campus could encroach on the open space."
Supervisor Susan Gorin agreed that the community wants open space and parks. "This is who we are and this is what we value and believe in," she said. Economist Walter Kieser of Economic & Planning Systems, another WRT expert, cautioned that the county's housing shortage and low residential vacancy rate could create pressure to explore other options. "You see tension between uses that have a lot of market potential and uses that have a lot of community value," he said. In the subsequent question and answer session, local resident Scott Braun was explicit about the possibility of a big development. "Anyone who thinks there aren't plans out there is living in a fool's paradise."
Commissioned by the state, the $2 million WRT study began 14 months ago but was interrupted by the October fires. Completion is expected in July or August. As part of the study, 65 community members were interviewed. From this input, consultants identified five community priorities: protection of SDC land and water, preservation of a legacy of care, community character and historical preservation, contribution to economic diversity and viability of Sonoma Valley, and a focus on community benefit.
Read more at http://www.kenwoodpress.com/pub/a/10018?full=1
Author SuzannePosted on June 24, 2018 July 20, 2018 Categories Forests, Habitats, Water, WildlifeTags conservation, development, fire recovery, parks
The trail blazers: local eco-pioneers lead the way
Jonah Raskin, THE SONOMA VALLEY SUN
Last October's firestorms stunned Sonoma Valley citizens, though once the smoke cleared and embers were extinguished, families and friends ventured out to see the spectacle of blooming flowers and green trees.
Richard Dale, the executive director for 26 years at the Sonoma Ecology Center (SEC), said that the disaster brought about "heightened interest in the environment." Some of that concern, he added, was "about the need to prevent future fires" and some was "amazement at the natural world."
In light of our recent fires, and droughts and floods, it might be useful to remember that the pioneers who crossed the plains, forded rivers and scaled mountains were the opposite of conservationists. In fact, they made a continental-sized mess by slashing forests, exhausting soils, polluting waters, exterminating Indians tribes and decimating wild life.
Read more at http://sonomasun.com/2018/06/21/the-trail-blazers-local-eco-pioneers-lead-the-way/
Author SuzannePosted on July 16, 2017 Categories Agriculture/Food System, Habitats, Land Use, WildlifeTags conservation, dairy, Point Reyes National Seashore, ranching
Granting of Point Reyes ranch long-term leases halted in lawsuit settlement
Guy Kovner, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Granting long-term leases to the two dozen ranching families that have raised cattle for generations at Point Reyes National Seashore would be halted under a proposed court settlement announced Wednesday to resolve a lawsuit brought last year by three environmental groups.
The tentative deal, which involves the groups and the National Park Service, manager of the 71,000-acre seashore on the Marin County coast, requires park managers to study impacts on the environment from decades of ranching and opens up the possibility that grazing dairy and beef cattle could be curtailed or ended.
Both the ranchers and environmental groups claimed victory in the settlement of a closely watched case, seen as having wider implications for management of federal land.
"This is what we asked for in the lawsuit," said Deborah Moskowitz, president of the Resource Renewal Institute, one of the environmental groups. "It's good news."
Dairy rancher Jarrod Mendoza said the settlement was "a temporary win" for ranchers, who would get five-year leases.
Ranchers have been operating on one-year leases and Mendoza, a fourth-generation rancher, said he was "hopeful" that 20-year terms would ultimately be allowed. Mendoza, who milks about 200 cows a day at his ranch, said he hopes to continue in agriculture for the rest of his life.
Moskowitz and Mendoza acknowledged the settlement does not address the question of whether cattle can coexist with wilderness on a scenic peninsula inhabited by tule elk, eagles, black-tailed deer and bobcats."I think those questions will be answered in the general management plan," Mendoza said, referring to a park planning update required by the settlement,
Read more at: Granting of Point Reyes ranch long-term leases halted in lawsuit settlement | The Press Democrat
Author SuzannePosted on May 6, 2017 Categories Habitats, Land UseTags conservation, marine monuments, national monuments, wilderness
Berryessa Snow Mountain on President Trump's list of monuments up for review
Matthew Daly, ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Interior Department has identified 27 national monuments, predominantly in Western states, to review for possible changes to the protections created over the past two decades. Here are the six in California.
Berryessa Snow Mountain, designated in 2015, 330,780 acres
Carrizo Plain, designated in 2001, 204,107 acres
Giant Sequoia, designated in 2000, 327,760 acres
Mojave Trails, designated in 2016, 1,600,000 acres
Sand to Snow, designated in 2016, 154,000 acres
San Gabriel Mountains, designated in 2014, 346,177 acres
Source: Interior Department
The Interior Department on Friday identified 27 national monuments, mostly in Western states, that it is reviewing for possible changes to the protections created by Republican and Democratic presidents over the past two decades.
The list includes the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument that President Barack Obama established in 2015 to add protection for federal land in Napa, Yolo, Solano, Lake, Colusa, Glenn and Mendocino counties. It does not include Obama's 2014 addition of the Point Arena-Stornetta Public Lands in Mendocino County to the California Coastal National Monument.
President Donald Trump ordered the review last month, saying protections imposed by his three immediate predecessors amounted to "a massive federal land grab" that "should never have happened.
"The list released Friday includes 22 monuments on federal land in 11, mostly Western states, including Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante in Utah, Nevada's Basin and Range and Katahdin Woods and Waters in Maine.
The review also targets five marine monuments in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, including a huge reserve in Hawaii established in 2006 by President George W. Bush and expanded last year by President Barack Obama.
Read more at: Berryessa Snow Mountain on President Trump's list of monuments up for review | The Press Democrat
Author SuzannePosted on March 18, 2017 Categories Land UseTags Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District, conservation, development, housing, oak woodlands, open space
Santa Rosa meadow up for sale by Sonoma County over neighbors' objections
J.D. Morris, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
At the end of Beverly Way, a small and secluded street in northeastern Santa Rosa, lies the entrance to a grassy meadow beloved by local residents who for decades have wandered through the open field and among the massive oak trees beyond.
Visitors to the Sonoma County-owned land are welcomed by a prominent sign just beyond the street that declares the property part of the surrounding Paulin Creek Open Space Preserve, a more than 40-acre swath of land situated south of the former county hospital complex and above the Hillcrest neighborhood near Franklin Park.
But the meadow's inclusion in a forthcoming county land deal — the sale of 82 acres to a local developer whose plans include hundreds of new housing units — has neighbors alarmed that the county is, perhaps unwittingly, turning over the field to housing construction.
A 16-foot banner recently staked down by Beverly Way neighbors speaks to that concern."The county is selling our meadow to an apartment developer," it proclaims, encouraging like-minded individuals to help prevent "the destruction of our preserve."
Read more at: Santa Rosa meadow up for sale by Sonoma County over neighbors' objections | The Press Democrat
Author SuzannePosted on October 28, 2015 Categories Land Use, WildlifeTags conservation, hiking trails, Land Paths, open space, wildlife corridor
Public open space outside Santa Rosa grows with deal for Mark West Creek land
Derek Moore, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Generations of kids and other nature lovers will continue to enjoy outdoor experiences at a Mark West Creek ranch northeast of Santa Rosa under a new conservation deal that maintains public access to the property in perpetuity.
More broadly, open space advocates say preservation of the 124-acre Rancho Mark West builds upon a legacy of protecting land from development in the sensitive environmental area while offering the public more opportunities to engage with nature a short distance away from Santa Rosa.
"We hope to be able to walk people from Santa Rosa to Rancho Mark West to spend the night. That would be a pretty incredible opportunity," said Craig Anderson, executive director of the nonprofit group LandPaths.
LandPaths will continue to operate In Our Own Backyard, Owl Camp and other popular outdoor programs for kids at the St. Helena Road ranch under an updated conservation easement that protects public access to the site.
Read more: Public open space outside Santa Rosa grows with | The Press Democrat
Author SuzannePosted on September 10, 2015 Categories Agriculture/Food System, Sonoma Coast, WildlifeTags conservation, fisheries, salmon, water regulation
Conservationist Zeke Grader, advocate for fish, dies
Steve Rubenstein, SFGATE
Zeke Grader, a lifelong conservationist who loved wild fish, wild rivers and the good fight necessary to protect them, has died. He was 68.
"You would probably not be eating a wild California salmon today if it were not for Zeke," said his friend Tim Sloane, the executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations. "He was not afraid of speaking truth to power. He wasn't afraid of anyone."
Mr. Grader, 68, died Monday night of pancreatic cancer at a San Francisco hospice.
From 1976 until this summer, Mr. Grader held the executive director position for the federation, the largest trade group of commercial fishermen on the West Coast. He represented commercial fishermen in their efforts to keep streams and rivers flowing, the San Francisco Bay healthy, and wild salmon and other native fish plentiful and viable.
In the constant battle over California water, Mr. Grader frequently fought with agricultural and commercial interests that he believed were laying claim to more than their fair share.
He worked on such projects as dismantling dams, protecting habitat, assisting out-of-work fishermen and maintaining critical water flows. He took on timber harvesters, suction dredge miners and petroleum polluters.
"You cannot overstate how much he accomplished in legislation and policy," Sloane said. "There would be no commercial salmon industry in California if not for his efforts.
"Former Monterey congressman and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta praised Mr. Grader for his "critical leadership in the fight for strong stewardship of our ocean resources. … His common sense, his total devotion to those he represents and his commitment to getting the job done have given all of us courage and inspiration.
"His friend and fellow conservationist Patricia Schifferle said Mr. Grader "wasn't afraid to take on big agriculture and industry to protect our resources."
"Because of him, we have protections in San Francisco Bay and in our estuaries," said Schifferle, the director of Pacific Advocates in Truckee. "He was fair-minded when he came to the table. But he was not afraid of a fight. He was a man who stood up for fish."
A lawyer by training who wound up making the king salmon his primary client, Mr. Grader was a short, blond, stocky man who loved good food, scally caps, vintage cars and strolls on Northern California beaches with family, friends or his beloved cocker spaniel, Emily.
He spoke plainly and bluntly, and one friend said Mr. Grader had an unparalleled "BS detector." His favorite food was salmon, although, Sloane said, he would settle for petrale sole.
He put in long hours, and his friends knew that he was often too busy working to be bothered. If you wanted to be sure to catch Mr. Grader on the phone, Sloane said, you had to call him around sunrise, when his workday started.
Mr. Grader, the son of a fish broker, was a native of Fort Bragg in Mendocino County. He spent much of his childhood on the Fort Bragg docks, helping fishermen unload their catches. He was a graduate of Sonoma State University and the University of San Francisco School of Law and a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps.
A wild fish was worth saving, Mr. Grader believed, not just for the fisherman who caught it but for its own sake, as part of the natural order."
I think part of it is standing your ground, saying what you mean," Mr. Grader said to a friend not long before he died, in describing his way of representing fish and fishermen. "Don't mince your words. Know what you're talking about. Stay firm. Don't back down."
He is survived by his wife, Sausalito attorney Lois Prentice. At his request, there will be no funeral. Plans for a memorial service are pending.
Source: Conservationist Zeke Grader, advocate for fish, dies – SFGate
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Graves Hospitality is partnering with Minneapolis landowner Basant Kharbanda to develop 150 luxury apartments and a 150-room hotel near U.S. Bank Stadium.
The site is a two-acre surface parking lot at the southeast corner of the Washington Avenue/Chicago Avenue intersection.
Graves Hospitality President Ben Graves said his company already has approval from Marriott International to put the hotel under the Marriott Moxy flag. That's the same brand Graves Hospitality is using for the Uptown hotel project that surfaced last week.
Moxy is a new boutique brand that is expanding from Europe to the U.S. It's geared toward traveling businesspeople who might be working downtown but want to stay in a vibrant neighborhood within walking distance or a short transit trip from the city's center.
our mind, it's a lifestyle boutique product with nice rooms, great finishes, but only has the things you need," Graves said.
This new Graves hotel will be across the old rail ROW diagonal from the proposed Stone Arch Hotel at 903 Washington then?
So, this will be right next door to the proposed Stone Arch Hotel, right?
wait, so this is the same developer and hotel brand that is going in uptown? I wonder if it will be similar styles.
Yes, and across the street from Thresher square.
Well one or two of these hotel proposals is not going to get built. All are a ways from the CBD. More than a few blocks away. Will have to see if they can create a mini entertainment district along East Washington to keep those hotels occupied. We now have two back to back, the 800 across Washington, and the hotel in Thresher Square. Which of these proposals will not make the cut?? Or do we really think they all can fly when there is not Superbowl, Final 4, and other mega events that will for sure fill the rooms.
So at what point do we reach peak boutique hotel?
Click around. Everything that comes up "Timeshare Properties" could conceivably be part of this project. I do wonder/worry how they will handle the property line and access issues with the proposed Stone Arch Hotel next door.
Anondson wrote: This new Graves hotel will be across the old rail ROW diagonal from the proposed Stone Arch Hotel at 903 Washington then?
I hope they preserve the rail ROW, I though the stone arch hotel was counting on it being left open for access and visibility.
Heh. I wandered up onto that parking lot in Sunday and wondered why we hadn't heard any proposals for it yet. There we go, I suppose.
But, yeah, 6 hotels on 6 adjacent blocks might be a bit much for this part of town.
You have the Graves, the Stonearch, the 800, and the Threshers square. Can this area handle 4 more hotels as well as the huge Marriott Courtyard that is already across 35W @ 7 corners.
Wedgeguy wrote: Well one or two of these hotel proposals is not going to get built. All are a ways from the CBD. More than a few blocks away. Will have to see if they can create a mini entertainment district along East Washington to keep those hotels occupied. We now have two back to back, the 800 across Washington, and the hotel in Thresher Square. Which of these proposals will not make the cut?? Or do we really think they all can fly when there is not Superbowl, Final 4, and other mega events that will for sure fill the rooms.
Well, thresher square is pretty far along in the process despite a few delays and the people behind the stone arch seem to be treating the project as their magnum opus that they will build regardless of market conditions. That leaves this new project. That said, I find it interesting that they announced this AFTER Minneapolis was rejected for hosting the college football playoff in 2020.
Moxy hotel actually, ran by Graves. Yeah Stone Arch seems less likely of them all.
The stadium-area project will include a fitness center, parking and retail space that would likely be taken up by restaurants.
Specifics are still being worked out in the schematic design process, Graves said, and details like height are still to be decided. He hopes to submit plans to the city before the end of the year.
Kharbanda owns lots of property in Downtown East and recently sold two hotels for $101 million: W Minneapolis Hotel - The Foshay and Le Meriden Chambers Minneapolis.
Says that 4 other developers,besides Graves, have pitch proposals, who would be the 5th one? Are they talking the extra floor on the Depot Renaissance?
I think we're all forgetting the business travelers who will be frequenting the new WF towers, alongside the stadium.
We are a Big City guys - sure there may be a proposal that doesn't happen... but planning for the future, and the need that will be there, seems like a good bet downtown.
I LOVE seeing a proposal for this block.
I hope it shakes something out of Zigy for his blocks soon too! Some sort of destination/space for even more feet on the streets in this area - for all the new hotels, would be ideal. Please THINK BIG Zigy. Bring something worthwhile and people-drawing.
Reminder: I posted this link in the economics of housing thread.
Short summary. Hotels are at record occupancy and revenue levels. The money guys must still be seeing these as good investments by the fundamentals.
What are the chances that the apartments are on top of the hotel? Would be nice to get a little variation and height now that the stadium is so tall.
Nathan wrote: What are the chances that the apartments are on top of the hotel? Would be nice to get a little variation and height now that the stadium is so tall.
That would be really awesome. You could have some really amazing views of the river & downtown!


Have you purchased a Fortification boost before?
I doubt ea would answer this but I'm curious to know how many times this boost was ever purchased by any keepers? I kinda doubt any keeper would purchase this more than once. And I feel most would never purchase this.
In case anyone else purchases this boost, I hope this makes it easy to find.
I purchased 8 months of it when last promotion 75% boost discount.. I still have a few months left and i plan to buy +1 year next boost discount. Not for the trophies, but i like a tough dungeon, and see 4500+ TP attackers usually defeated after a refill+revive or 1 star only.
Wow, completely forgot this exists. But I never buy boosts so that's that. Anyway, Fortification boost explains a mystery I saw earlier today: my max-level Cluck Off not killing some guy's warlocks in one hit.
Keithustus wrote: Wow, completely forgot this exists. But I never buy boosts so that's that. Anyway, Fortification boost explains a mystery I saw earlier today: my max-level Cluck Off not killing some guy's warlocks in one hit.
Eureka! The warlock thing happens to me a lot and it's never dawned on me that this is why.. mystery solved!
Never bought a boost. Surely bolstering the Hatchery would also prevent 1 slap Warlock kill, as that boosts minion health, and as it doesn't mention under what circumstances (unlike first strike and fortification), presumably the boost works during both attack and defence?
It doesn't work on attack only on defense. I have used it when it was 75% off never used it at full. I am thinking of using it this upcoming tourney to help with the +15's I would get instead of -1. I had a crap load of -1 that I would revenge for +10 this past weekend. Get me to 5800 way quicker.