Thanks to the efforts of Br. Kip and the generosity of his friend, Rev. Joseph Devlin, pastor of Our Lady of Peace Parish, we have a new place to gather now that Conway Hall is unavailable for the foreseeable future.
We will still begin our official gathering at our usual 12:30 pm but Br. Kip would like us to try to attend Mass together at 11:30 am, especially this first month here. Initial Formation for inquirers and candidates will now be held at 9:30 am so that group will be definitely attending Mass. Perhaps we can all try to all sit together. The meeting place in the former convent which is to the right of the church. Park anywhere behind the church.
Our new location is not the only big news to report this month. We're also excited to announce that Brother Kip has officially been named our new spiritual assistant by the regional provincial.
To celebrate this important occasion, we will hold the Rite of Installation for a Spiritual Assistant (yes that's a thing), during the April meeting.
Our former Fraternity Minister (current Regional Minister) Kate Kleinert has kindly agreed to serve as presider during the Rite.
Please remember that this year's Fairshare contribution of $30 was due in March.
The Fair Share is not meant to be a hardship. If your financial circumstances makes it difficult to contribute please let a council member know.
Please keep the newly elected Council in your prayers as they prepare to serve you for the next three years!
Brother Kip's postulant class will provide our April ongoing formation session and the topic will be penance.
The term Penance in Franciscanism is equivalent to the biblical meaning of metanoia, understood as an intimate conversion of the heart to God, as a vital altitude, a continuous state of being. It is not a question of doing penance but of being penitent.


When closed, the chess set measures about 7.75" x 15.25" x 2". Portable for travel. Perfect to play on the train, at the park, or at the school playground. Enjoy the friendly competition with family and friends. The board can also be used to play checkers and other similar games. (checkers not included). Classic gift idea!


Those who think of the Situationists at all probably associate them with the Paris riots of 1968. This obscure group of artists and drunks were among those who occupied the Sorbonne and plotted revolution. Their fame is based upon a handful of books and a couple of natty slogans painted onto the walls of Paris - "Free the Passions", "Never Work", "Live Without Dead Time".
What is less well known is that Guy Debord and his disciples were also radical town planners, whose ideas are only now beginning to come back into fashion. The Situationists were a group that wanted a revolution in urban design, allowing citizens themselves to decide what kind of spaces and architecture they wanted to live in.
One article from 1958 sums up the group's feelings about the city: "The world we live in, and beginning with its material decor, is discovered to be narrower by the day. It stifles us.
"We yield profoundly to its influence; we react to it according to our instincts instead of according to our aspirations. In a word, this world governs our way of being and it grinds us down."
Debord's analysis of the city was based on psychogeography - which the Situationists defined as the study of the effects of geographical settings, consciously managed or not, acting directly on the mood and behaviour of the individual.
Putting people in control of planning might sound like simple common sense, but many contemporary psychogeographers argue that even today's town and city planners have failed to learn much from Debord's theories.
In fact Ian McKay, a senior lecturer at the Southampton Institute and editor of the Journal of Psychogeographical and Urban Research, is hard pressed to think of any examples of good urban design.
Bad examples are far more common. Mr McKay points to a Southampton council estate with "green spaces so wide that the wind cuts through you", and building layouts that are "cynical" and can only be made out from on high: "You know these estates because every major conurbation has them, and they spawn nothing but apathy".
The problem for urban designers is that people always want to break the rules that planners try to set them. The design of the great council estates of the 1950s and 60s was a failure, suggests Mr McKay, precisely because planners sought to create communities without bothering to examine how people wanted to live their lives.
"Only in transgressing the rules of the planned space can we really find our own meaning and space," said Mr McKay. "A good planner knows this and allows for this transgression of the plan by the individuals who have to live in the space. The good town planner may well be one not precious about the plan."
Contemporary psychogeographers put a great deal of emphasis on examining the myriad experiences people have of living in a city. A sports supporter might see a city in terms of the route to the football ground, and the quality of his or her experience might be defined in terms of what they hear, see or do on the way. This is why some groups of psychogeographers are keen on "mood mapping" - charting cities by the way they make people feel rather than their physical layout.
Urban designers need to understand what makes city experiences good and act as a broker between the needs of different groups, argues Nigel McGurk, a professional planner and land manager with the company Countryside Properties.
Mr McGurk extends his definition of bad planning to include the "box bashing" approach of many housing estates and new towns, and the "green wastelands" created by developers who are forced to build parks as a planning condition but find they are never used as communal space.
He also provides an apt metaphor for the consequences of bad planning: "An experience I had as a developer was at a place called Winwick Park in Warrington. We needed to provide new nesting boxes for housemartins, it was a planning condition. The housemartins came back and built nests next door to the nesting boxes."
There are as many potential solutions to this problem as there are sects of psychogeographers.
At the more radical end of the scale a group of artists calling itself the Nottingham Psychogeographical Unit argues that there are already too many buildings and calls for all new developments to be stopped immediately. Recent new buildings should be torn down according to popular demand from local residents, they say, and citizens should be given total administrative power over development.
The aim is to allow the city to grow in an organic way, guided by local needs and "opening ourselves and our cities up to the possibility of experiencing higher moments of life".
Some psychogeographical groups have also brought the occult into their study of the city, becoming obsessed with ley-lines and other new age gimmickry.
But Mr McGurk is more practical in his approach: "We've got to find out what it is that people want - how they want to interact with their environment. One of the big challenges, I think, is for town planners to address what is meant by public consultation."
He sees buildings such as the Lowry museum in Manchester as examples of good psychogeographical design. The creators of the Lowry, he says, have made a new community with a real sense of place by mixing galleries with restaurants, theatres, shops and bars.
Manchester's new Urbis centre provides a similar mix of exhibitions, shops, meeting places and cafes. Mr McGurk argues that the designers have succeeding in using the centre to guide people into seldom used parts of the city.
The avant garde founding fathers of psychogeography would probably be horrified at the mainstream and moderate uses to which their philosophy is being put. But Mr McKay does have one radical proposal of which Debord would have been proud.
"I really believe that if planners were required to live in the conurbations they plan, and some are, their awareness of the subtle psychogeographies at work would quickly come into focus," he said.


When it comes to performance and reliability nothing beats a Yamaha F50.
The super efficient EFI system delivers impressive power at high engine speeds and real torque in the mid ranges. Easy starting and quiet operation add to an overall experience that current owners rave about.
Electronic Fuel injection for cleaner, quieter performance.


An Soft dense plush carpet with a face weight of 60oz. Great durable carpet for active households. Comes with a Lifeguard waterproof backing. Spills will not soak into the padding. Carpet is designed to hold up in high traffic areas and comes with Stainmaster stain protector.


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Can You Hear Me Running? Pleasance Theatre until 23rd October
It was my first time at the Pleasance Theatre. It's tucked away between industrial buildings, amongst a clutter of bars and restaurants. In this cosy little theatre space, Jaw Rattle productions brought us Can You Hear Me Running?, the story of Louise Breckon-Richards and her recovery from a world of silence.
Photo Credit Graham Saville
Louise is an actor. A singer, a performer. In every walk of life, from a mother to a joker, it is the vibrations of her vocal chords that define her. So what happens when her larynx lets her down? She takes to the streets.
As a fellow runner, I was with her every step of the way. The sense of personal achievement and euphoria that can be achieved through simply placing one foot in front of the other is hard to capture. The disbelief as your legs take you further than you thought they could. Louise shows us how, between the stack-boxed stage set, she used her whole body to compensate for the loss of her voice.
Accompanying the journey is Dan Glover, reminding us how much simple music can convey. From Send in the Clowns to Coldplay in the flick of a switch, he provides an extra character, in the form of unsung songs. We follow her journey to uncertain recovery, see the pain the loss of her voice brings, and follow her to the finish line.
It wasn't exactly what I was expecting. We were treated to diary entries, monologues, interviews with specialists where Louise took on multiple characters. Right from the beginning it was brazen, I felt very exposed to a personal journey, which is perhaps why it lacked the bravado you would hope for in a one-woman show.
Personally, I found it incredibly moving. When I left the theatre, I wanted to sing, scream, call up a friend and pour every little thought I had into their ear. The play highlights the power that lies within our voices, and questions if we can truly be ourselves without it.
It felt uncomfortably real. There was hope, tragedy, humour and despair. Basically, life. At the end, I felt as though a sliver of another life had been given to me. Understated yet moving, an honest and energetic show.
Can You Hear Me Running?
★★★★ "Understated yet moving, an honest and energetic show"
Guest Review by Sarah Tinsley
Title Can You Hear Me Running?
Performance Dates Tuesday 4th – Sunday 23rd October 2016 Tuesday-Saturday, 8pm (additional performances on 13th and 20th at 1pm)
Sunday, 5:30pm
There will be a signed performance on Sunday 16th October Running time 70 minutes
Twitter @canyouhearmerun, #canyouhearmerunning, @BreckonRichards, @JawRattle, @jjoharper
Website https://canyouhearmerunning.wordpress.com/
Performer Louise Breckon-Richards
Written by Jo Harper
Director Steve Grihault
Musical Director Dan Glover
Movement Director Steve Kirkham
Produced by Jaw Rattle Productions
Location Pleasance Theatre, Carpenters Mews, North Road, London N7 9EF How to get there The nearest tube station is Caledonian Road (on the Piccadilly Line). Turn left out the station and then take the first left up North Road. The theatre is then 100m up on your left. The closest rail station is Caledonian Road and Barnsbury.
Box Office Tickets are available from £10 at https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/can-you-hear-me-running or 020 7609 1800.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


We help your organization ideate, develop and test plans, procedures and tools.
We develop and modernize disaster risk reduction, resilience, and emergency preparedness programs.
We develop apps to catalyze locally-oriented solutions to internationally-relevant problem sets.
We facilitate human and technical interoperability through next-gen geographic information systems.
We offer on-demand training and exercises for families, businesses, community organizations and governments.
SPIN Global is a Washington D.C. based small business that exists to provide solutions that help private, non-governmental and public sector agencies improve coordination prior to a disaster. We enable organizations to jointly plan, train and operate together effectively as a team and assist one another in the time of need. SPIN Global addresses this coordination challenge by modernizing disaster risk reduction and emergency preparedness programs, with a distinct focus on applied science and the use of technology as a catalyst for change in how coordination is achieved to improve disaster resilience.
SPIN Global is proud to be a member of several organizations and associations.
Joel has supported regional and national-level homeland security and emergency preparedness initiatives for the U.S. government, and has provided technical assistance, conducted exercises and provided training directly to agencies in over 40 states and hundreds of local agencies and private sector companies.
As president of SPIN Global's non-profit work, Laura focuses on program development and donor relations to support incubation of local innovations that reduce global poverty. Laura and Joel have experience in 30 nations providing faith-based and global humanitarian relief. SPIN Global is a socially conscious organization that donates 10% annual profits to our nonprofit affiliate to support local innovations that reduce global poverty.
We are looking to grow our team! We are looking for talented, energetic, experienced technical professionals (US Citizenship Required).
SPIN Global is a participant in the E-Verify® program. E-Verify® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.


Jona Liebl is a Senior Project Manager at adelphi leading the topical areas of sustainability entrepreneurship and climate-smart inclusive green business models in developing countries and emerging economies. As a political scientist, he has many years of experience in conceptualising and leading international development projects, especially on behalf of the European Commission, various ministries and UN organisations, as well as German and international development cooperation organisations.
As an experienced project leader, he designs and implements projects and programmes for national and international institutions. His work is primarily centred on the intersection of economic development, environmental policy and private sector cooperation. He has sound competencies as an evaluator of sustainable business models and as a developer of entrepreneurial capacity building programmes. Jona is Capacity WORKS certified.
As a senior project manager with years of career experience in international cooperation, Jona is Head of Programmes of SEED, a global multi-stakeholder partnership that was founded at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002 and that supports innovative, small and growing eco-inclusive enterprises in developing countries and emerging economies. In this context he has over the years evaluated a huge variety of sustainable business models as part of the global SEED Awards and has implemented several workshop formats with innovative eco-inclusive start-up enterprises in Africa (Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa, Uganda) and Asia (Vietnam).
Jona is co-author of a case studies series on successful local initiatives in the area of biodiversity conservation and poverty eradication as part of the international multi-stakeholder project "Biodiversity for Local Livelihoods". His regional expertise extends from Asia to Latin America and Africa.
Prior to joining adelphi, Jona worked for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in New York, USA, where he served as a Programme Assistant at the Equator Initiative. Subsequently to his work at UNDP, he was appointed as a member of the Technical Advisory Committees for the 2012 and 2014 Equator Prize.
Jona graduated from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich with a M.A. degree in Political Science, Modern History and Media Law with a specialisation in international relations and the international standardisation of ethical business conduct. During his studies he was a visiting fellow at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú in Lima, Peru and the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in Spain. Further, he is a qualified IT specialist (IHK).


When and why do governments promote non-state legal orders that seemingly undermine their monopoly on rule-making and enforcement? The presentation will uncover the logic of promoting customary law and Sharia in Ramzan Kadyrov's postwar Chechnya. First, it will analyze the costs and benefits of promoting non-state legal orders rooted in custom and religion for the ruler. Second, it will explore how the conflict affected these costs and benefits. The analytical leverage to test the argument comes from the cross-temporal comparison of postwar Chechnya (2007-2017) with the de facto independent Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (1991-1999), as well as the cross-regional comparison of Chechnya with neighboring regions of Ingushetia and Dagestan.
Egor Lazarev is an assistant professor of political science at the University of Toronto. His main research interests are state-building and the rule of law, social and political legacies of conflict, and ethnic and religious politics. His primary geographic focus is the Muslim-majority regions of the former Soviet Union. His book project "Laws in Conflict" explores how the social and political consequences of armed conflict affect legal pluralism – the coexistence of Russian state law, Sharia, and customary law in Chechnya. Egor's previous research has been published in World Politics, World Development, and Political Science Research & Methods.


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The Damned United
Taking over Leeds United, Brian Clough's abrasive approach and his clear dislike of the players' dirty style of play make it certain there is going to be friction. Glimpses of his earlier career help explain both his hostility to previous manager Don Revie and how much he is missing right-hand man Peter Taylor
Watch online The Damned United at 123Movies completely free in HD. The full movie The Damned United is available to watch on 123 Movies with switchable subtitles, HD video quality selection and you can rate it after watching.
Genre: Best 2009, Best Sport, Drama
Director: Tom Hooper
Actors: Brian McCardie, Colm Meaney, Creed Bratton, Elizabeth Carling, Giles Alderson, Henry Goodman, Jim Broadbent, Joe Dempsie, Liam Thomas, Mark Bazeley, Mark Cameron, Martin Compston, Maurice Roeves, Michael Sheen, Paul Bown, Peter McDonald, Ralph Ineson, Stephen Graham, Sydney Wade, Terence Harvey, Timothy Spall


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Posts by Topic: ebags RSS feed
eBags zooms past 25 million bags sold — nearly 2.5M in past year
Lucky No. 25,000,000: eBags shared Feb. 4, 2016 that it sold its 25 millionth bag.
By the time eBags shared on Thursday that it has sold its 25 millionth bag, the company's online ticker counting each bag sold showed the Greenwood Village online retailer had sold another 82,076.
The 25 millionth bag was a North Face Borealis backpack, which was purchased by a customer in Laurel, Maryland. Says Peter Cobb, eBags' co-founder, the company did reach out to the person.
"Funny, I e-mailed the customer congratulating her, offering a $100 gift certificate and wanted to post a photo of her with her backpack but no response," Cobb e-mailed us. "She probably thought it was a promotional e-mail."
Company employees plan to celebrate Friday, as a "tie in to United in Orange Celebration tomorrow," he added. Read more…
Categories: Internet
Silicon Valley's Benchmark Capital sells entire stake in eBags
Online retailer eBags calls this Greenwood Village office home and it recently signed a new 7-year lease.
Ebags CEO Mike Edwards and company co-founder Peter Cobb are among a group of investors who bought a portion of the online retailer after long-time investor Benchmark Capital sold its stake, Edwards confirmed Thursday.
Benchmark — the well-known Silicon Valley venture capital firm behind Uber, Snapchat and Zillow — put $30 million into the Greenwood Village retailer back in 1999 as the company was just starting up.
Sixteen years later, Benchmark was apparently ready to get out. Read more…
Comments Off on Silicon Valley's Benchmark Capital sells entire stake in eBags
Categories: Internet, Mobile
Online retailer eBags hires new CEO from Staples
Inside eBags office in Greenwood Village.
UPDATED, 2:11 p.m.:
Ebags CEO Mike Edwards, as of July 2015. Image from eBags.
The man who enticed Apple to sell its products at Staples office-supply stores has joined eBags as its CEO.
Mike Edwards, who left the office retailer in April, starts the new gig August 3. He was at the Greenwood Village company's headquarters this week to meet its 100 employees, said eBags cofounder Peter Cobb, executive vice president of marketing.
"We're a product company. We sell 60,000 (types of) bags and accessories and gosh, you'd think that was enough. But there's an upside in that we can be growing even more," Cobb said.
Edwards replaces Rob Cassidy, who joined eBags in 2009 and served as president and interim CEO. Cassidy left to pursue other interests, Cobb confirmed. Read more…
Categories: Internet, Tech+
5 things you didn't know about eBags
Hot-pink sticky notes strategically decorate a wall in the eBags office. The unsubtle message must work — many employees have jotted down encouraging messages to one another.
If you've ever driven on Interstate 25 past Greenwood Village, you've probably seen a two-story building with the eBags logo. Or you've read the sign that says eBags sponsors highway cleanup. (It contracts out that task.)
Yes, the Internet seller of every handbag, suitcase and backpack known to netizens is headquartered in Greenwood Village. But that's not one of the five things you likely didn't know.
Here are five things I learned during my visit to the eBags office for the first time last week:
How lucky is eBags to have survived 16 years? It attracted employee Jordan Hamlett, a handbags merchandising associate, who baked more than 150 cupcakes for everyone in the local office.
1. eBags turned 16 this month. Peter Cobb launched the eBags website on March 1, 1999 after surviving a bout with cancer. That eBags emerged from the dot-com bust and continues to sell millions of bags a year (22,719,486 bags sold as of this morning) is an achievement, especially considering some of the other big "e" companies of that era. Remember eToys and e-Stamp? Then again, the letter "e" has had some staying power with other dot-com survivors including eBay and eTrade. Read more…
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August 13, 2014, 7:00 am
Hot or not? Denver's eBags "Obsession" feature asks shoppers to rate handbags
By Andy Vuong
Peter Cobb, co-founder of eBags. (Denver Post file photo)
Greenwood Village-based eBags is rolling out a new feature that harkens back to the days of HotOrNot – the dot-com era sensation that allowed users to quickly rate the attractiveness of others.
Instead of photos of people, eBags Obsession shows visitors images of handbags and asks them to swipe left or right, depending on whether they "Love it" or want to "Leave it."
The goal is to help shoppers find a better way to sort through the 12,000 handbags that are sold on eBags.com, an Internet retailer that has become Read more…
Categories: Tech+


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Facebook's Artificial Intelligence Has The Ability to Search Photos by Content
by Dr. Natalie | Feb 6, 2017 | Amazon, Artificial Intelligence, Computer vision, Dr. Natalie's Blog, Facebook, Innovation, Machine Learning | 0 comments
The term artificial intelligence was coined 60 year ago. But now its starting to deliver. Lumos's computer vision platform was initially used to improve the experience for visually impaired members of the Facebook community. Lumos is now powering image content search for all users. What does this means to you? You can now search for images on Facebook with key words that describe the contents of a photo, rather than being limited by tags and captions.
How does this work? It starts with the huge task of computational training. For the object recognition used in Facebook's image search, the artificial intelligence (AI) system started with a small set of 130,000 public photos shared on Facebook. Using the annotated photos the system could learn which pixel patterns correspond to particular subjects. It then went on to use the tens of millions of photos on Facebook. So what this means is that the caption-reading technology trained a deep neural network though public photos shared on Facebook. The model essentially matches search descriptors to features pulled from photos with some degree of probability. You can now search for photos based on Facebook AI's assessment of their content, not just based on how humans happened to describe the photos with text when they posted them.
How could this be used? Say you were searching on a dress you really liked in a video. Using the search it could be related back to something on Marketplace or even connect you directly with an ad-partner to improve customer experiences while keeping revenue growth afloat. So it seems it can help both customers, customer experience and companies selling things as well as ad partners.
What else is new? Facebook released the text-to-speech tool last April for visually impaired users so they could use the tools to understand the contents of photos. Then, the system could tell you that a photo involved a stage and lights, but it wasn't very good at relating actions to objects. But now the Facebook team has improved that painstakingly labeling 130,000 photos pulled from the platform. Facebook trained a computer vision model to identify 12 actions happening in the photos. So for instance, instead of just hearing it was "a stage," the blind person would hear "people playing instruments" or "people dancing on a stage" or "people walking" or "people riding horses." This provides contextually relevancy that was before not possible.
You could imagine one day being able to upload a photo of your morning bagel and this technology could identify the nutritional value of that bagel because we were able to detect, segment, and identify what was in the picture.
So it seems the race is on for services not just for image recognition, but speech recognition, machine-driven translation, natural language understanding, and more. What's your favorite AI vendor?
@Drnatalie, VP, Program Executive, Salesforce ITC


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Intrigue Me
Excite Me
Scare Me
Provoke Me
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The Working Dead
By Richard Milner
Picture Credit: Juhan Sonin
This April, Japan instituted a sweeping labor reform. Mandatory overtime is now capped…at 100 hours a month, and companies that breach this regulation can be fined up to $3,000 per instance (peanuts to giant corporate offenders like Panasonic and Dentsu). To try to combat overwork, full-time employees are now obligated to take…five days paid leave a year.
Such reforms seem ridiculously ineffectual in a country where death from overwork is so common enough there's a word for it: karoshi. "Black companies" (known for grinding, murderous work schedules) number in the hundreds. The Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, has even published a list of these companies online to publicly shame them into respecting employee health and well-being.
Where work-related stress isn't causing employee death by stroke or heart failure it often drives them to suicide. Work-related "Chuocides" on the Chuo train line in Tokyo (which has no guard rails) are common enough to elicit little more than exasperated sighs from passengers whose travels are delayed by another "human body incident" alert. The survivors sleep standing up on trains with their hands dangling from plastic hand rings, pass out on streets or platforms, or drink themselves into a stupor after hours of unbroken, slavish tedium.
Aphorisms like "work smart, not hard" never took hold in Japan. Employees, on the whole, across any stratum and within any field, are incessantly surveilled and judged by how busy they seem to be, not by actual productivity. Workers race across offices, shuffle papers purposelessly on desks, and arrive at meetings huffing from non-existent exertion simply to curry favor with superiors or co-workers. Goma-suri, loosely translated as brown-nosing, has none of the negative connotations nor ironic self-awareness it does in the West; indeed, it's considered positive relationship building and part of the job. And so workplaces are also plagued by inefficiency that feeds the belief for the need for long work hours.
Employees, on the whole, are incessantly surveilled and judged by how busy they seem to be, not by actual productivity.
If an individual wants to change jobs, it's commonly believed that he or she must stay a minimum of three years in a position (toriaezu san-nen) or risk being seen as an irresponsible lout. Workers are further incentivized to stay in companies because their salaries are pegged to their seniority in a company. Employees begin with a standard basic wage, and receive a raise for each year of service. Changing companies means going back to a low rung of the pay scale and starting to climb all over again. Long-term employees are also the recipients of all the benefits intrinsic to their positions as senpai (respected elders) in a thoroughly hierarchical society.
Add to this entrenched ageism that makes it very hard for someone over 40 to change jobs and applications requiring photos to be attached to resumes (so companies can directly evaluate a candidate based on appearance), and it becomes quite clear the deck is stacked against anyone trying to buck the Japanese employment system.
This relationship between Japanese employers and employees can be traced to the hardnosed work ethic of Japan's bubble years in the 70s and 80s. But it more closely resembles medieval social structures: feudal lords own a plot of land, and those in their charge pay homage (and literal money) for the right to live on said land, and for protection in the form of mercenaries (samurai). When I asked some Japanese people about historical links to the country's work culture they responded: "Japan never had a revolution." The nation's democratic structures and capitalist economics were laid over a pre-existing system that was never challenged or overthrown from within.
Japan's employer-employee dynamics resembles medieval social structures.
And so in the modern era, this form of fealty rears its head towards the end of university, when Japanese students are taught to follow a rigid employment system. Shuukatsu, the term for the systematic process by which a student gains employment after finishing university, is nearly impossible to circumnavigate. Each month during their final year of university, students must follow a series of prescribed steps to obtain employment, or flounder. Companies hire into bandwidths of seniority, not roles, regardless of major; after being hired, "freshmen" receive on-the-job training for their role. A History major could land a job as a coder, or a Physics major could be assigned to sales. This experience lays the groundwork for all future expectations regarding employer-employee relationships: employers hold all the cards.
Traditionally, graduates would remain at the same company for 50 or more years until retirement and then collect their pension spending their entire working lives at one company. Lifetime employment might not be the norm any longer – not since Japan's tech bubble burst in the 90s, breaking the taboo on switching jobs by forcing those laid off to search for new employers. That said, prevailing attitudes regarding permanent employment and company loyalty linger.
This is not to say the face of employment in Japan isn't changing, but there's a difference between policies on paper and policies in practice. Flextime, for instance, started being instituted in Japan in 1990. In 2002, though, companies were still claiming it was too tough to implement, and even now flextime remains a distant dream for most.
Picture Credit: Jorge Gonzalez
A software engineer who worked on missile guidance systems for the Ministry of Defense told me about an absurd set of restrictions surrounding his employer's implementation of an already very limited notion of flextime. His employer stated that employees could schedule their days around core hours, which were 10-5. Then, they instituted mandatory morning meetings at 9. The engineer, who had a newborn child, and who commuted over two hours one-way on multiple trains, decided to invoke his right to flextime and show up at 10. Within several weeks he was invited to a one-on-one, mafia-like meeting in an empty restaurant with his supervisor, where he was lectured for over three hours on company loyalty. He was, frankly, not goma-suriing enough; he was being irresponsible by taking advantage of official flextime policy.
Another person who works in finance reported her salary (an otherwise fixed amount) docked by an hour if she was even one minute late to her desk (physically sitting in her chair). Arrive at her desk at 9:01, and she received pay from 10. This is while trying to scurry her way through a gauntlet of obligatory "good mornings" (which must be conducted face-to-face at the desk of every supervisor). When she raised this point with her direct supervisor, he simply told her to stay later.
These are of course extreme examples, one in a government position, the other in an industry known for its inhumanity. They reveal, however, the mindset of an old guard of employers that is still largely dominant in the Japanese workplace.
Picture Credit: tokyoform
Because of Japanese companies' reputations for brutally overworking their employees, international talent is often deterred from working in Japan, especially when coupled with the bureaucratic complexities of starting and maintaining a business. Japan's population is expected to shrink from 127 million to 97 million by 2050, and the government is fully aware of the need to make the country attractive to both skilled and unskilled workers. Hence the easing of restrictions making it extremely difficult for blue-collar workers to enter the country in 2018. Now, selected industries in need of labor have broad access to non-Japanese workers.
This represents one step forward in the evolution of Japan's labor market, but traditional Japanese systems are still at odds with today's employment needs (e.g. distance working, consolidation of roles, increased efficiency). On the whole, Japanese companies have done little to change how they operate.
Japanese companies have done little to change how they operate.
Yes, more Japanese people are engaged in part-time work than ever before, in multiple roles or otherwise. There are more women employed than ever before, and there are more freelancers than ever before. In fact, 40% of the adult male workforce in their 30s now engages in "irregular work" of some form. However, they're seen as bizarre, financially unstable outliers, to the point where only 25% of them are married (compared to 70% of those with conventional corporate positions). Old attitudes regarding traditional employment persist even in the young.
True change, however, rests in the hands of these younger employees, and will likely be initiated from the bottom up, not the top down. Bridging the gap between past and future requires standing up to existing work habits and their intrinsic power dynamics, generationally and culturally. Japan needs a quiet grassroots labor revolt in lieu of the democratic revolution it never had.
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The Sydney-based energy distributor and renewables developer has revealed that it will pay higher rates to households for the electricity they send to the grid from their rooftop PV arrays.
It said the revised retail feed-in tariff (FIT) rates will help to soften the impact of rising energy prices in some Australian states and save money for households that have installed solar modules. AGL, EnergyAustralia and Origin Energy all recently revealed that retail electricity and gas prices will rise sharply from the beginning of July.
"We estimate the increases in feed-in tariffs could be worth up to A$3,321 ($2,512) per year in extra savings for some customers, depending on which state they live in and the amount of solar energy they generate and export to the grid," said Sandra de Castro, general manager of sales and marketing for AGL.
FiT rates for residential customers in Queensland, New South Wales (NSW), Victoria and South Australia will increase by between 77% and 140%. New tariffs will range from A$0.11 cents to $A0.16 per kWh, up from between A$0.05 and A$0.07. The revised rates are set to go into effect from July 1 July.
AGL is introducing the new rates in response to increases in wholesale market prices and higher residential electricity costs, particularly in New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia. The FIT in New South Wales will jump 82% to A$0.11/kWh and by 77% to nearly A$0.11/kWh in Queensland. However, rates will jump the most in South Australia — up 140% to A$0.16/kWh — and in Victoria, up 126% to A$0.11/kWh. The increase in Victoria is in line with requirements set by the Essential Services Commission, which is the state's economic regulator.
In 2015, AGL completed a 53 MW solar array in Broken Hill, New South Wales. It also owns a 102 MW project in the state, near the town of Nyngan. And in March of this year, the company switched on a "virtual power plant" near Adelaide. With that project, it now centrally controls about 7 MWh of aggregated residential battery capacity backed by solar.


Bowling is "The Original X Game." Wearing this one-of-a-kind shirt from bowling.com, you'll be able to show off what an EXTREME bowler you are! Printed on a high-quality white Hanes Beefy-T.
Due to the time it takes to produce the "The Original X Game" T-Shirt White ball it will ship in immediately. We cannot ship this ball outside the United States.


Q & A details - Welding aluminum with 3 phase welder?
Welding aluminum with 3 phase welder?
My uncle has an Airco welder, and I need to weld some aluminum with it. What voltage and flow meter settings should I use with the aluminum wire. I am welding a 1/16" NPT aluminum bung onto aluminum inter cooler piping.


text:
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star is a 2011 children's picture book of Jane Taylor's classic nursery rhyme adapted and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. It is about a chipmunk that travels to the moon.

Reception
Kirkus Reviews in a starred review of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star called it a "sumptuous elaboration of the familiar lullaby" and concluded "Just another superb outing from a fixed star twinkling in the children's-literature firmament." and Publishers Weekly wrote "Pinkney's flora and fauna are exquisite, as is his palette, dominated by rich earth tones and brilliant blues. Soothing and magical, this one should conjure some sweet dreams."

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star has also been reviewed by Booklist, Horn Book Guide, The School Library Journal, and The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books.

References

2011 children's books
Picture books by Jerry Pinkney
Works based on nursery rhymes
Fictional moons
Fictional chipmunks
American picture books
Science fiction picture books

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Hans Brøchner Bruun (18 July 1793 - 1 April 1863) was a Danish merchant and politician. He ran a large trading house in Assens on the island of Funen. He was by royal appointment a member of the 1848 Danish Constituent Assembly.

Early life and education
Bruun was born in Fredericia, the son of Bertel Bruun (1767–1827) and Magdalene Barbara Brøchner (1768–1831). He received a commercial education in his father's company. His father was the owner of several successful factories in Viborg and Fredericia.

Career
In 1826 Bruun took over the operation of the ferry service from Assens on Funen. His youngest brother, Søren Wedege Bruun, ran a trading house in the same town. Bruun continued the firm after his brother's early death in 1837. The company, N. M. & F. Plum, developed into one of the largest trading houses in the Danish provinces.

Politics
Bruun chaired Assens Town Council from 1839 to 1857. He was elected for Roskilde Provincial Assembly in 1835–48 as a representative of the smaller market towns in Odense County, although he was absent at the 1844 assembly, and was appointed for the 1848 Danish Constituent Assembly by the king.

Personal life

Bruun married Hanne Antonie Jacobine Christiane Plum (17 February 1798 - 19 January 1878), a daughter of parish priest, and later bishop, Frederik Plum (1760–1834) and Marie Sophia Munk (1765–1829), on 6 June 1818 in Odense. They had the following children:
 Bertel Bruun (22 January 1820,- 6 August 1894)
 Marie Sophie Bruun (22 November 1822 - 26 November 1847)
 Frederik Plum Bruun (1824)
 Magdalene Barbara Bruun (1827)
 Hanne Antonie Bruun (1832-1833)

References

External links

 Hans Brøchner Bruun

19th-century Danish businesspeople
19th-century Danish politicians
People from Assens Municipality
1793 births
1863 deaths
People from Fredericia


text:
Gartner Symposium/ITxpo divulges critical future IT insights
Ashton Young
The Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2016 has commenced in the Gold Coast this week. The event has been self-proclaimed as the 'world's most important gathering of CIOs and senior IT executives, and with the sheer numbers of people, it's hard to disagree.
Over the course of the event (which upon its conclusion, will have stopped off in eight major cities around the world) there is expected to be more than 24,000 people in attendance, which includes 7,000 CIOs.
Thus far at the Gold Coast event we have borne witness to some hard-hitting and unbiased Gartner analysis, recommendations to enhance return-on-investment and insights into the future to help prepare organisations for what's ahead.
This year's theme is all based around helping participants see further, explore deeper and to discover how to make digital a core competence for them and their organisations.
This was reflected in a keynote on Tuesday, where Gartner senior vice president and global head of Research, Peter Sondergaard (pictured) spoke about the challenges that modern businesses now face in having to adopt new digital platform strategies and treat IT investments as assets rather than costs.
"The battle for ownership of digital platforms, where networks of stakeholders bring value to each other, has begun," says. Sondergaard. "The good news is that there's incredible opportunities for those companies that innovate, lead and ultimately succeed in the creation of new digital platforms that meet their customer's needs better than their competitors. The bad news for those hearing about this seismic shift for the first time is, basically, you're already a long way behind."
Sondergaard assures that while not every organisation needs to take on a leadership role within their business ecosystem, it's vital that CIOs collaborate with their business counterparts to integrate digital platform development into their technology and business strategic planning.
"CIOs will participate in the building of a new digital platform with intelligence at the centre," Sondergaard says. "That platform will enable ecosystems, connecting businesses and collapsing industries. It will change society itself, and the way people live."
We will be there throughout Gartner Symposium/ITxpo to ensure you stay up to date.
Journey Digital's CX expertise recognised in Best Design Awards
IBM NZ appoints practice lead for new Cloud Advisory Practice
A/NZ organisations must prepare at 'warp-speed' for 4th Industrial Revolution
Google and Spark announce virtual skills training programme for SMEs
Gartner Digital transformation / DX Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2016 CIOs


text:
\section{Introduction\label{sec:intro}}
Recent advances in the science of complex systems aim for a better
understanding of
the higher-order connectivity as a possible basis for their
emerging properties and complex functions. Beyond the framework of
pairwise interactions, these connections described by
simplexes of different sizes provide the geometry
for higher-order interactions and  simplex-related dynamical variables.
One line of research consists of modelling and analysis of the
structure of simplicial complexes in many complex systems, ranging from the
human connectome \cite{Brain_weSciRep2019} to quantum physics \cite{Geometries_QuantumPRE2015} and materials
science \cite{AT_Materials_Jap2016,we-SciRep2018}. Meanwhile,
considerable efforts aim at understanding the impact of geometry on
the dynamics.
In this context, the research has been done on modelling of the
simplex-based synchronisation processes
\cite{HOC_Synchro_ArenasPRL2019,HOC_synchroexpl_Bianconi2019}, on
studying the related spectral properties of the underlying networks
\cite{we-SpectraPRE2019,Spectra-rapisarda2019}, as well as on the interpretation of the dynamics of the brain \cite{HomologyBrain_petriJRSI2014,HOC_Brain_ReimanFrontCompNeuro2017,Brain_Hubs-dynamicsReview2018} and other complex
dynamical systems \cite{HOC_Kuehn2019}.

Recently, mapping the brain imaging data \cite{BrainMapping_Zhang2018} to
networks involved different types of signals across spatial and
temporal scales; consequently, a variety of structural and functional
networks have been obtained
\cite{BrainConnectivityNets_2010,BrainNetParcellation_Shen2010,EEGnets_ICAreconstr_PLOSone2016,Xbrain_hyperscanning}.
This network  mapping enabled getting a new insight into the
functional organisation of the brain \cite{Brain_phys1review,Brain_phys2}, in particular,  based on the standard and deep graph theoretic methods
\cite{Sporns_BrainNets_review2013,brainGraph_metods2014,GD_Bud_PLOS2015} and the algebraic topology of graphs \cite{Brain_weSciRep2019,Xbrain_wePLOS2016}.
The type of network that we consider in this work is the whole-brain
network \textit{human connectome}; it is mapped from the \textit{fMRI}
data available from the human connectome project \cite{HCP_Neuroimage}, see Methods. The network nodes are identified as the grey-matter anatomical brain regions, while the edges consist of the white-matter fibres between them.  Beyond the pairwise connections, the human connectome
 exhibits a rich structure of simplicial complexes and short cycles
 between them, as it was shown in \cite{Brain_weSciRep2019}.
 Furthermore, on a mesoscopic scale, a typical structure with anatomical modules is observed.
It has been recognised
\cite{brainNets_tasksPNAS2015,Brain_modularNNeurosci2017} that every module has an autonomous function, which contributes to performing complex tasks of the brain. Meanwhile, the integration of this distributed activity and transferring of information between different modules is performed by very central nodes (hubs) as many studies suggest, see a recent review \cite{Brain_Hubs-dynamicsReview2018} and references therein. Formally, hubs are identified as a group of four or five nodes in each brain hemisphere that appear as top-ranking according to the number of connections or another graph-centrality measure. Almost all formal criteria give the same set of nodes, which are anatomically located
deep inside the brain, through which many neuronal pathways go.
Recently, there has been an increased interest in the research of the hubs
of the human connectome. The aim is to decipher their topological configuration and how they fulfil their complex dynamic functions.
For example, it has been recognised that the brain hubs are mutually
connected such that they make a so-called ``rich
club'' structure \cite{Brain_Hubs-richclub2011}. Moreover,  their topological configuration develops over time from the prenatal to childhood and adult brain \cite{Brain_Hubs-development2015,Brain_Hubs-development2019}. The hubs also can play a crucial role in the appearance of diseases when their typical configuration becomes
  destroyed \cite{Brain_Hubs-diseases2012}.

Assuming that the higher-order connectivity may provide a clue
of how the hubs perform their function, here we examine the organisation of simplicial complexes around eight leading hubs in the human connectome. Based on our work \cite{Brain_weSciRep2019}, we use the consensus connectomes that we have generated at the Budapest connectome server \cite{http-Budapest-server3.0,Hung2}. These are connectomes that are common for one hundred female subjects (F-connectome) and similarly for one hundred male subjects (M-connectome), see Methods. Accordingly, we determine the hubs as eight top-ranking nodes in the whole connectome, performing the ranking according to the number of simplexes of all orders in which the node participates. These are the  Putamen, Caudate, Hippocampus and Thalamus-Proper in the left and similarly in the right brain hemisphere; they also appear as hubs according to several other graph-theory measures.  We then construct \textit{core networks} consisting of these hubs and all simplexes attached to them in both female and male connectomes. We determine the simplicial complexes and the related topological entropy in these core structures.  To highlight the weight-related heterogeneity of connections,  the structure of these core networks is gradually altered by increasing the threshold weight above which the connections are considered as significant.  We show that the
connectivity up to the 6th order remains in both connectomes
even at a high threshold. Meanwhile,  the identity of edges and their weights appear to be different in the F- and M-connectomes.

\section{Methods\label{sec:methods}}

\subsubsection{Data description}
 We use the data for two \textit{consensus connectomes}  that we have generated in  \cite{Brain_weSciRep2019} at the Budapest connectome server 3.0 \cite{http-Budapest-server3.0,Hung2} based on the brain imaging data from Human Connectome Project \cite{HCP_Neuroimage}. Specifically, these are the weighted whole-brain networks that are common for 100 female subjects, \textit{F-connectome}, and similarly,
\textit{M-connectome}, which is common for 100 male subjects. Each connectome consists of $N=1015$ nodes annotated as the anatomical brain regions, and weighted edges, whose weight is given by the number of fibres between the considered pair of brain regions normalised by the average fibre length. Here, we consider the largest number
$10^6$ fibres tracked and set the minimum weight to four. The
corresponding core networks \textit{Fc-network} and \textit{Mc-network} are defined as subgraphs of the F- and M-connectomes, respectively, containing the leading hubs and their first neighbour nodes as well as
all edges between these nodes. Meanwhile, the hubs are determined according to the topological dimension criteria, as described below and in Results.

\subsubsection{Topology analysis and definition of quantities}
We apply the Bron-Kerbosch algorithm \cite{cliquecomplexes} to analyse
the structure of simplicial complexes, i.e., clique complexes, in the core Fc- and Mc-
connectomes. In this context, a \textit{simplex} of order $q$  is a
full graph (clique) of $q+1$ vertices $\sigma_q=\left \langle
  i_0,i_1,i_2,...,i_{q}\right \rangle$. Then a simplex $\sigma_r$  of the order
$r<q$ which consists of $r$ vertices of the simplex $\sigma_q$ is a
\textit{face} of the simplex $\sigma_q$.  Thus, the simplex $\sigma_q$
contains faces of all orders from $r=0$ (nodes), $r=1$ (edges), $r=2$ (triangles), $r=3$ (tetrahedrons), and so on,  up to the order $r=q-1$. A set of simplexes connected via shared faces of different orders makes a
\textit{simplicial complex}. The order of a simplicial complex is
given by the order of the largest clique in this complex, and
$q_{max}$ is the largest order of all simplicial complexes.
Having the adjacency matrix of the graph, with the algorithm, we build
the incidence matrix ${\Lambda}$, which contain IDs of all
simplexes and IDs of nodes that make each simplex. With this
information at hand, we compute three structure vectors \cite{jj-book,Qanalysis1} to characterise the architecture of simplicial complexes:
\begin{itemize}
\item The \textit{first structure vector (FSV):}
$\mathbf{Q}=\{Q_0,Q_1,\cdots Q_{q_{max}-1}, Q_{q_{max}}\}$, where  $Q_q$
is the number of $q$-connected components;
 \item The \textit{second structure vector (SSV):} $\mathbf{N_s}=\{n_0,n_1, \cdots
n_{q_{max}-1},n_{q_{max}}\}$, where $n_q$ is  the number of
simplexes from the level $q$ upwards;
\item The \textit{third structure vector (TSV):}  the component $\hat{Q}_q \equiv
1-{Q_q}/{n_q}$ quantifies the degree of   connectedness
among simplexes \textit{at} the topology level $q$.
\end{itemize}
Furthermore, we determine the topological dimension of
nodes and topological entropy introduced in \cite{we-PRE2015}. The topological dimension $dimQ_i$ of a node $i$ is  defined
as the number of simplexes of all orders in which
the corresponding vertex participates,
\begin{equation}
dimQ_i \equiv \sum_{q=0}^{q_{max}}Q_q^i \ ,
\label{eq:dimQ}
\end{equation}
 where $Q_q^i$  is determined directly from the
 ${\Lambda}$ matrix by tracking the orders of all simplexes in which the node
 $i$ has a nonzero entry.
Then, with this information, the entropy of a topological level $q$
defined as
\begin{equation}
S_Q(q) = -\frac{\sum_i p_q^i \log p_q^i}{\log M_q} \;
\label{eq-entropy-q}
\end{equation}
is computed. Here,  $p_q^i= \frac{Q_q^i}{\sum_i Q_q^i}$ is the node's
occupation probability of the $q$-level, and the sum runs over all
nodes. The normalisation factor  $M_q=\sum_i\left(1-\delta_{Q_q^i,0}\right)$ is the number of vertices  having a nonzero entry at the level  $q$ in the entire graph.
Thus the topological entropy (\ref{eq-entropy-q}) measures the degree
of cooperation among vertices resulting in a minimum at a given
topology level. Meanwhile, towards the limits $q\to 0$
and $q\to q_{max}$, the  occurrence of  independent cliques results in a higher entropy at that level.

In addition, we compute  the vector $\mathbf{f}= \left\{ f_0, f_1,
  \cdots  f_{q_{max}}\right\}$, which is defined
\cite{we-PRE2015} such that $f_q$ represents  the \textit{number of simplxes and faces at the level} $q$. Given that a free simplex of the size
$n>q$ has the corresponding combinatorial number of faces of the order $q$, the component $f_q$ thus  contains information about the actual number of shared faces between simplexes \textit{at} the level $q$.

\subsubsection{Network structure \& hyperbolicity}
The underlying topological graph represents the 1-skeleton of the simplicial complex. Using the graph-theory methods \cite{sergey-lectures}, we determine the degree--degree correlations that are relevant to the observed "rich club behaviour" of the hubs in the global connectome \cite{Brain_weSciRep2019,Brain_Hubs-richclub2011,Brain_Hubs-development2015,Brain_Hubs-development2019}.
Precisely, for each node in the considered network, the average number of edges of its nearest neighbour nodes is plotted against the node's degree. The
following scaling form is expected
\begin{equation}
\langle k\rangle_{i:nn} \sim k_i^\mu \ .
\label{eq:assort}
\end{equation}
Here, the positive values of the exponent $\mu > 0$ indicate the
\textit{assortative}  correlations, while $\mu < 0$ corresponds to a
\textit{disassortative} mixing, and $\mu=0$ suggests the absence of
nodes correlations. We analyse the Fc- and Mc-graphs by considering
the edges that remain after applying different weight thresholds. The weight distribution $P(w)$ is determined for the
entire core-networks, see Results.

Furthermore,  using the 4-point Gromov
criterion for the hyperbolic graphs \cite{HB-BermudoHBviasmallerGraph2013}, we determine the hyperbolicity parameter
$\delta_{max}$ of these graphs. Precisely, for each 4-tuple of nodes
$(A,B,C,D)$ in a $\delta$-hyperbolic
graph $G$,  the ordered relation between the sums of shortest-path distances
${\cal{S}}\equiv d(A,B)+d(C,D) \leq {\cal{M}}\equiv  d(A,C) + d(B,D)
\leq {\cal{L}}\equiv d(A,D)+ d(B,C)$ implies that
\begin{equation}
\delta(A,B,C,D) \equiv  \frac{{\cal{L}} - {\cal{M}}}{2} \leq \delta (G)\; .
\label{eq:hb-condition}
\end{equation}
It follows from  the triangle inequality that the upper bound of
 $({\cal{L}}-{\cal{M}})/2$ is given by  the minimal distance
 $d_{min}\equiv min\{d(A,B),d(C,D)\} $ in the smallest sum
 ${\cal{S}}$. Thus, by sampling a large number
($10^9$)  4-tuples of nodes  in each graph, and plotting  $\delta(A,B,C,D) $
against the corresponding minimal distance $d_{min}$, we obtain $\delta (G)$
as the upper bound of $\delta_{max}=max_G\{\delta(A,B,C,D)\}$.

\section{Results\label{sec:results}}
\subsection{Whole-brain connectomes: Identification of hubs from
  topological dimension }
We consider two whole-brain networks, precisely, the F-connectome,
which is common for 100 female subjects, and M-connectome,
consisting of the edges that are common to 100 maile subjects; see
Methods and \cite{Brain_weSciRep2019} for more details. For
illustration, the F-connectome is shown in the left panel of Figure\
\ref{fig-ranking2x}. Each connectome consists of 1015 nodes as
anatomical brain regions. These nodes are interconnected by a particular pattern of edges and organised in six mesoscopic communities.
 For this work, we determine the \textit{global hubs} in the F- and M-connectomes. These are eight top-ranking nodes according to the number of simplexes attached to a node. Based on our work in \cite{Brain_weSciRep2019}, we use the
 corresponding $\Lambda$-matrix for the F- and M-connectomes
 and identify simplexes of all orders in which a particular node
 $i=1,2,\cdots 1015$ participates. The node's topological dimension
 $dimQ_i$, defined by (\ref{eq:dimQ}) is then computed. For both connectomes, the node's ranking distribution by the decreasing topological dimension is shown in the middle right panel of figure\ \ref{fig-ranking2x}. As the figure demonstrates, the eight top-ranking nodes (marked along the curve for the F-connectome) make a separate group compared to the rest of the curve. These nodes also appear (see the list below)
 among the first eight ranked topological hubs in the M-connectome:
\begin{verbatim}
rank_F     name                 rank_M
1     Left Putamen              1
2     Right Putamen             3
3     Left Caudate              2
4     Right Caudate             4
5    Left Thalamus-Propper      5
6    Left Hippocampus           7
7    Right Hippocampus          8
8    Right Thalamus-Propper     6
\end{verbatim}
For comparisons with other approaches, we also show that these nodes
(with altered order) also appear as eight hubs ranked according to the node's strength $S_i$,  defined as the sum of weights of all edges of the node $i$. In this case, the ranking curves of the F- and M-connectomes
virtually overlap, see the top right panel in figure\
\ref{fig-ranking2x}. The lower right panel shows the 3-dimensional plot of the node's topological dimension over different topology
levels $q$. In this plot, the high peaks corresponding to our hubs
indicate what orders of simplexes mostly contribute to distinguishing the
hubs from the rest of the surrounding nodes.
Note that these eight nodes also appear as the leading hubs in several other sorting methods, for example, according to the node's degree and centrality measures \cite{Brain_Hubs-development2019,Brain_Hubs-richclub2011}.
For comparisons with other methods, we also show
the names of nodes that rank from 9-20 according to the topological
dimension in the case of the F-connectome:
\begin{verbatim}
rh.precentral_7, Right-Pallidum, rh.caudalmiddlefrontal_11,
lh.caudalmiddlefrontal_13, Brain-Stem,  Left-Pallidum,
lh.precentral_21, lh.precentral_6,lh.superiorparietal_25,
rh.precentral_19, rh.precentral_15, rh.superiorparietal_13
\end{verbatim}
The nodes listed in the first two rows, except from the Brain Stem, also appear in this ranking range in the M-connectome.
\begin{figure}[htb]
\centering
\begin{tabular}{cc}
\resizebox{28pc}{!}{\includegraphics{Fig1_combFfull_ranking3x_w.png}}\\
\end{tabular}
\caption{(left) F-connectome, 1000K fibres, with labels as brain
  areas.  (right, top) Ranking of the vertices according to the strength
  $S_i$, top, and topological dimension $dimQ_i$, lower panel, where eight leading vertices are marked (they also visible as hubs in the network on the left). (right,bottom) The 3D plot of the topological
  dimension against the topology level $q$ and the node's index
  $i$ for nodes in the F-core graph. }
\label{fig-ranking2x}
\end{figure}

Next, we consider a reduced network consisting of these
hubs and the nodes directly attached to any one of the hubs,
as well as the original edges between them in the  F- and
M-connectomes. The resulting \textit{core networks}
termed Fc- and Mc-networks, respectively, are shown in figure\
\ref{fig-coreNets2x}. Note that, by definition, the topological
dimension of the hubs is invariant to this network reduction.

\subsection{Core networks associated with  global
  hubs in the female and male connectomes}
The extracted core Fc- and Mc-networks represent the part of the corresponding connectome in which the global hubs perform their function.  Here, we explore in detail the structure of the core networks in the female and male connectomes. Furthermore, we analyse how the structure depends on the weights of the edges. The histogram of the weights  is
shown in figure\ \ref{fig-PwFcMc}a for both Fc- and Mc-networks.
 As figure\ \ref{fig-coreNets2x} demonstrates, these core networks
exhibit a similar community structure. Precisely, each community in the
Fc- and similarly in Mc-connectome is a part of the global connectome
community, cf. figure\ \ref{fig-ranking2x}. This fact suggests that,  in both connectomes,  the core network reaches to all parts of the brain. Meanwhile,  it contains a smaller number of nodes (517 nodes in the Fc- and 418 in the Mc-network, respectively), and a considerably smaller number of connections compared to the whole connectome.  Thus, the node's assortativity changes as compared to the whole network. As the inset
to figure\ \ref{fig-PwFcMc} shows, the hubs mix in line with other
vertices in the core graphs, while they make a separate group when the
whole connectomes are considered \cite{Brain_weSciRep2019}.  This
assortative dependence emphasises the robustness of  core networks
with respect to  the hierarchical transmission of information among brain regions \cite{Nets_assortativegroups2018}.

\begin{figure}[htb]
\centering
\begin{tabular}{cc}
\resizebox{28pc}{!}{\includegraphics{Fig2_FcMc_comm_w.png}}\\
\end{tabular}
\caption{Core networks attached to the eight hubs in the female Fc- (left) and male
  Mc-connectome (right) from the original full-connectomes data at
  $N_F=10^6$ fibres tracked and  the  weight threshold $w_0=4$. The relative size of nodes is
  proportional to the number of their connections in the core-networks;
  the node's labels show the corresponding anatomical brain region,
  and colours indicate five communities.}
\label{fig-coreNets2x}
\end{figure}

\subsection{Topology of core networks depending on the weights
  of edges\label{sec:subnet}}
Using the approaches described in Methods, we determine several
algebraic-topology measures to characterise the structure of
simplicial complexes as well as the underlying topological graphs in the core Fc- and Mc-networks.
These results are summarised in figures\ \ref{fig-PwFcMc} and \ref{fig-coreNets2xw40}.
Apart from a different number of nodes and edges that comprise the Fc-
and Mc-networks, we note that both of them are heterogeneous concerning the weight of edges, resulting in the broad log-normal
distributions in figure\ \ref{fig-PwFcMc}a.  Therefore, we obtain
different structures when the edges over a given threshold weight,  $w_0$,
are considered. By gradually increasing the threshold $w_0=$10, 40, 100,
we show how the network properties change. More precisely, by removing the edges below the threshold, the network's diameter increases, and the distribution of the shortest-path distances change the
shape. Eventually, a larger cycle can appear, resulting in the
increased value of the hyperbolicity parameter, as shown in figure\
\ref{fig-PwFcMc}b,c. Meanwhile, the reduced networks preserve the
assortative mixing among the nodes, see the inset to figure \ref{fig-PwFcMc}a.

\begin{figure}[htb]
\centering
\begin{tabular}{cc}
\resizebox{26pc}{!}{\includegraphics{Fig3_PwAssPdHb_abc_w.png}}\\
\end{tabular}
\caption{(a) Histogram of the weights of edges in the core Fc -and Mc-networks of the corresponding female and male connectomes, main
  panel; Inset: the assortativity plots of nodes in the core Fc- and
  Mc-networks for the weight threshold $w_0$=4, 10, 40, and 100,
  respectively, indicated by dotted vertical lines in the main panel.
  (b) Distribution of distances $P(d)$ against the shortest path
  distance $d$ and (c) the hyperbolicity parameter $\delta_{max}$
  against the shortest distance $d_{min}$ for the core Fc- and
  Mc-networks shown in figure  \ref{fig-coreNets2x}, and these networks for two larger threshold weights,  indicated in the legend.}
\label{fig-PwFcMc}
\end{figure}
\begin{figure}[H]
\centering
\begin{tabular}{cc}
\resizebox{26pc}{!}{\includegraphics{Fig4_SVs_Entr_fq_q_w0_w.png}}\\
\end{tabular}
\caption{The first (FSV) and third (TSV) structure vectors,  the
  number of simplexes and faces $f_q$, and the topological entropy
  $S_Q(q)$  against the topology level $q$ in the core Fc- and Mc-networks with the edges of weights above the threshold $w_0=$10, 40, 100.
}
\label{fig-coreNets2xSVs}
\end{figure}
At the same time, the order of simplicial complexes gradually reduces
from $q_{max}=12$, in the case of $w_0=10$, to $q_{max}=5$ when edges
over the threshold $w_0=100$ are retained.
The number of simplexes of the order $q=0,1,2\cdots q_{max}$,  given by
the FSV, and the ways that they interconnect, the TSV, change the
functional dependence of $q$ while at the same time reducing the difference between the Fc- and Mc-structures, cf.\ figure\ \ref{fig-coreNets2xw40}. The number of
simplexes and faces at the $q-$level, $f_q$, and the topological
entropy, $S_Q(q)$, follow a similar tendency. Moreover, the topological entropy
measure shows a pronounced minimum, indicating the
geometrical forms through which the nodes mostly interconnect. For example,
in the case of $w_0=100$, the minimum appears at $q=2$ (triangles) in
the Mc-, and $q=3$ (tetrahedrons) in the Fc-networks, respectively.
Figure \ref{fig-coreNets2xw40} illustrates the
remaining structures of the Fc- and Mc-networks when the weight
threshold $w_0=40$ is applied.
\begin{figure}[htb]
\centering
\begin{tabular}{cc}
\resizebox{24pc}{!}{\includegraphics{Fig5_FcMc_w40_white_FM_w.png}}\\
\end{tabular}
\caption{Core networks with the weights of edges above $w_0=40$ for the female  (left) and male (right) connectomes. Labels of nodes indicate the affected brain regions.}
\label{fig-coreNets2xw40}
\end{figure}

An edge-to-edge comparison between the core Fc- and Mc-networks with
the threshold weight $w_0=40$, shown in  figure \ref{fig-coreNets2xw40},
revealed 948 edges that appear in both of them. Besides, the core
Mc-network has 204 unique edges that are not present in the
Fc-network with this threshold value, while the Fc-network has 419
such edges that are not seen in the corresponding Mc-network.
Moreover, the weight difference among the common edges varies, as
shown in figure  \ref{fig-mcfccommon-wdiff}. For example, the pairs of
nodes that make up 16 edges with a large difference $|w_M-wF| >300$  are listed below:
\begin{verbatim}
ID  src_node              ID   dst_node         w_M   w_F
51 rh.parsopercularis_2  504 Right-Putamen      601   980
151 rh.precentral_9      504 Right-Putamen      740   375
159 rh.precentral_7      504 Right-Putamen     2453  1544
502 Right-Thalamus-Pr.  1008 Left-Thalamus-Pr.  809  1721
503 Right-Caudate       504 Right-Putamen      3340  2843
503 Right-Caudate       505 Right-Pallidum     3072  2280
503 Right-Caudate       507 Right-Hippocampus   937   591
503 Right-Caudate      1009 Left-Caudate       7122  8211
651 lh.precentral_21   1010 Left-Putamen       1220   765
654 lh.precentral_16   1008 Left-Thalamus-Pr.   137   584
654 lh.precentral_16   1010 Left-Putamen       1460   631
657 lh.precentral_4    1010 Left-Putamen       1796   993
661 lh.precentral_6    1010 Left-Putamen        618  1084
1008 Left-Thalamus-Pr. 1013 Left-Hippocampus   2481  2917
1009 Left-Caudate      1010 Left-Putamen       3174  2362
1009 Left-Caudate      1011 Left-Pallidum      3222  1805
\end{verbatim}

\begin{figure}[htb]
\centering
\begin{tabular}{cc}
\resizebox{22pc}{!}{\includegraphics{Fig6_commonedges_wdiff_w.png}}\\
\end{tabular}
\caption{The weight difference $w_M-w_F$ of the common edges, indexed from 1 to 948,  in the Fc- and Mc-core networks in Fig.\
  \ref{fig-coreNets2xw40} with the edges weight over 40.}
\label{fig-mcfccommon-wdiff}
\end{figure}

\section{Discussion and Conclusions\label{sec:discuss}}
We have analysed the structure of simplicial complexes surrounding eight topological hubs in the human connectomes. The hubs here
determined as the top-ranking nodes with the highest topological dimension (the number of simplexes attached). They represent the central
brain regions that coincide with the hubs determined by several other graph-theoretic measures. By parallel analysis of the
female and male consensus connectomes, we have extracted the
corresponding core segments, here termed the Fc- and Mc-networks, in
which the brain hubs perform their function.  Further, we have demonstrated that these
core networks are heterogeneous concerning the weights of
edges and they possess different weight-dependent
organisations. Consequently, their structure simplifies with the
increased weight threshold, eventually reducing at significant
thresholds to the 6-clique structure. Interestingly, these six nodes\begin{verbatim}
Right_Thalamus_Proper,Right_Caudate,Right_Putamen,
Right_Pallidum, Right_Hippocampus, Right_Amygdala\end{verbatim} make up a remaining
6-clique structure in both female and male core networks. With two
additional nodes, we have found another 6-clique  in the female core
network, i.e.,
 \begin{verbatim}rh.precentral_15, rh.precentral_7, Right_Thalamus_Proper,
Right_Caudate,Right_Putamen, Right_Pallidum\end{verbatim}
In both core networks, the identity of
the affected brain regions, as well as the variation of the weights
along the commonly present edges,  illustrates further differences between the female and male connectomes at the level of hubs.

In the context of higher-order connectivity, these findings can
contribute to better understanding the pattern of connections that
enable the brain hubs to perform their role in the female and male
connectomes.
 Besides, the revealed detailed structure of simplicial complexes and the
identified brain regions that take part in them can facilitate the
desired simplex-based dynamics modelling of the brain functions.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


text:
.. _build/buildScript:

=================================================
build system build script (build.sh or build.bat)
=================================================

:Project owner: Scott Jenkins
:since: 1.0

.. contents ::
   :depth: 2

Introduction
============

The ``build.sh`` (unix) or ``build.bat`` (Windows) script located in the Dojo source distribution tree under ``\\util\buildscripts`` is used to trigger the build process.

**Notes**

  * For advanced users, the command line arguments to the script are passed in to the ``build.js`` execution environment as part of the overall ``kwArgs`` object that it receives.

  * Any of the following parameters can be set directly in the profile file as part of the overall `dependencies` Object

Usage
=====

The parameters to build are (the value after the equal sign is the default value, if one exists, as of Dojo 1.2.3):

cssImportIgnore=
  If using cssOptimize="comments", then you can force the @import inlining step to ignore a set of files by using this option. The value of this option should be a comma separated list of CSS files names to ignore. The file names should match whatever strings are used for the @import calls.

xdScopeArgs=
  If the loader=xdomain build option is used, then the value of this option will be used as the arguments to the function that defines the modules in the .xd.js files. This allows for more than one version of the same module to be in a page. See documentation on djConfig.scopeMap for more information.

cssOptimize=
  Specifies how to optimize CSS files. If "comments" is specified, then code comments and line returns are stripped, and files referenced via @import are inlined. If "comments.keepLines" is specified, then code comments are stripped and @import calls are inlined, but line returns are preserved.

releaseName=dojo
  The name of the release. A directory inside 'releaseDir' will be created with this name.

localeList=ar,ca,cs,da,de-de,el,en-gb,en-us,es-es,fi-fi,fr-fr,he-il,hu,it-it,ja-jp,ko-kr,nl-nl,no,pl,pt-br,pt-pt,ru,sk,sl,sv,th,tr,zh-tw,zh-cn
  The set of locales to use when flattening i18n bundles.

releaseDir=../../release/
  The top level release directory where builds end up. The 'releaseName' directories will  be placed inside this directory.

  Note:  the default value of ``releaseDir`` will place the built Dojo directory tree *within* the source Dojo distribution tree that the buildscripts directory is a part of.  This is normally not a good behavior if you are including any custom source code modules; in these cases, you will want to override the default with a location outside the source tree.

copyTests=true
  Turn on or off copying of test files.

  When off (any non-truthy value--however ``false`` is your clearest choice), the Dojo test directory is not copied into your release distribution.  This can reduce the overall size of your distribution.

action=help
  The build action(s) to run. Can be a comma-separated list, like action=clean,release. The possible build actions are: clean, release.

  clean
     Remove the releaseDir and any contents it may have.

  release
     Build the release directories.

  Note:  when you specify ``release``, the ``clean`` option is implied automatically, *unless* you use the ``buildLayers`` option.

  Most of the time, you will specify ``action=release``.

symbol=
  Inserts function symbols as global references so that anonymous functions will show up in all debuggers (esp. IE which does not attempt to infer function names from the context of their definition). Valid values are "long" and "short". If "short" is used, then a symboltables.txt file will be generated in each module prefix's release directory which maps the short symbol names to more descriptive names.

internStrings=true
  Turn on or off widget template file interning.

  Normally, during the build process, one of the things that the builder does is take the separate HTML template files used by templated Dojo widgets (there are many of these in :ref:`Dijit <dijit/index>`) and convert them to inline string values within the as-built source file for the widget (as well as any layers that widget is built into).

scopeMap=
  Change the default dojo, dijit and dojox scope names to something else. Useful if you want to use Dojo as part of a JS library, but want to make a self-contained library with no external dojo/dijit/dojox references. Format is a string that contains no spaces, and is similar to the djConfig.scopeMap value (note that the backslashes below are required to avoid shell escaping): ``scopeMap=[[\"dojo\",\"mydojo\"],[\"dijit\",\"mydijit\"],[\"dojox\",\"mydojox\"]]``

mini=false
  Removes files like tests, demos dijit/bench, unfinished themes, and interned Dijit templates from the build. Overrides the value set for copyTests.

  When ``mini=true`` is specified, the smallest possible version of Dojo is generated given the other parameters.  Mini versions are built without the following resources:

    * tests
    * demonstrations
    * partial (unfinished themes)
    * original template files (since they would have been interned)

optimize=
  Specifies how to optimize module files. If "comments" is specified, then code comments are stripped. If "shrinksafe" is specified, then Dojo Shrinksafe will be used on the files, and line returns will be removed. If "shrinksafe.keepLines" is specified, then Dojo Shrinksafe will be used on the files, and line returns will be preserved. If "packer" is specified, Then Dean Edwards' Packer will be used, etc.

  Possible values for this parameter are:

  shrinksafe
     Use Shrinksafe in its default mode, where it strips both comments and blank lines

  shrinksafe.keepLines
     Use Shrinksafe to remove comments, but leave line breaks as-is, to facilitate human reading of the file (usually for debugging)

  closure
     Minify with the Google Closure compiler.  Requires Java 6.

  packer
     Minify with Dean Edwards' Packer.

     Note: the Shrinksafe minification that is used by default is much more effective in most contexts than the Packer minification.  Use this parameter only on servers which do not do their own automatic gzip compression of files being sent.  The packer minification does more extensive name mangling than Shrinksafe and so may cause difficulty in debugging.  The new Google Closure compiler, not included with this distribution, generally provides the best results.

loader=default
  The type of dojo loader to use. "default" or "xdomain" are acceptable values.

log=0
  Sets the logging verbosity. See jslib/logger.js for possible integer values.

profileFile=
  A file path to the profile file. Use this if your profile is outside of the profiles directory. Do not specify the "profile" build option if you use "profileFile".

xdDojoPath=
  If the loader=xdomain build option is used, then the value of this option will be used to call dojo.registerModulePath() for dojo, dijit and dojox. The xdDojoPath should be the directory that contains the dojo, dijit and dojox directories, and it should NOT end in a slash. For instance: 'http://some.domain.com/path/to/dojo090'.

stripConsole=
  Strips console method calls from JS source. Applied to layers and individual modules resource files. Valid values are "normal" (strips all but console.warn and console.error calls), "all" (strips all console calls), "normal,warn" (strips all but console.error calls), "normal,error" (strips all but console.warn errors).

version=0.0.0.dev
  The build will be stamped with this version string.  That is, the ``dojo.version`` value specified in the as built version will contain this version number.

  This parameter does not affect the names of the directories created by the build system.

profile=
  The name of the profile to use for the build. It must be the first part of the profile file name in the profiles/ directory. For instance, to use base.profile.js, specify profile=base.

layerOptimize=shrinksafe
  Specifies how to optimize the layer files. If "comments" is specified, then code comments are stripped. See the 'optimize' parameter for possible values.

scopeDjConfig=
  Burn in a djConfig object into the built dojo.js file. Useful if you are making your own scoped dojo and you want a djConfig object local to your version that will not be affected by any globally declared djConfig object in the page. Value must be a string that will look like a JavaScript object literal once it is placed in the built source. use Dojo as part of a JS library, but want to make a self-contained library with no external dojo/dijit/dojox. Example (note that the backslashes below are required to avoid shell escaping if you type this on the command line): ``scopeDjConfig={isDebug:true,scopeMap:[[\"dojo\",\"mydojo\"],[\"dijit\",\"mydijit\"],[\"dojox\",\"mydojox\"]]}``

xdDojoScopeName=dojo
  If the loader=xdomain build option is used, then the value of this option will be used instead of 'dojo' for the 'dojo._xdResourceLoaded()' calls that are done in the .xd.js files. This allows for dojo to be under a different scope name but still allow xdomain loading with that scope name.

buildLayers=
  A comma-separated list of layer names to build. Using this option means that only those layers will be built. This helps if you are doing quick development and test cycles with layers. If you have problems using this option, try removing it and doing a full build with action=clean,release. This build option assumes you have done at least one full build first.

Examples
========

.. js ::

  ./build.sh action=release,clean profile=myprofile version=1.5.0 releaseDir=myrelease

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
How lightsticks became a must-have item for K-pop fans
These colorful concert accessories have a huge place in K-pop history.
By Sage Anderson on June 19, 2019
Get those fanchants ready! Credit: VICKY LETA / MASHABLE
The flicker of tiny lighter flames once illuminated dimmed concert arenas during heart-wrenching numbers. Then it was phone flashlights waving brightly for all to see. But now K-pop fandoms have invented something much more high-tech to demonstrate their love for their idols: lightsticks.
SEE ALSO: Best K-pop lightsticks, ranked
These bright, beautiful lights are an essential part of any K-Pop concert-going experience. But why would fans pay top dollar for a glorified glow stick they'll only use once in a blue moon?
K-Pop fans at an NCT 127 show in Coral Gables, Florida. Credit: Johnny Louis / Getty Images
To be honest, I didn't quite understand it, being relatively new to the K-Pop wave myself. Until I saw BTS' "Love Yourself: Speak Yourself" tour earlier this year. For the first time, I got to experience up close and personal an extraordinary phenomenon — what fans call "the ocean." A sea of concert attendees, switching their lights on in the dark, bathing the arena in a blanket of color and light. Magical. Mesmerizing. Memorable.
I felt that shit in my soul. So I bought one.
But then I asked myself how did we get here? As it turns out, the history of why these are such a a thing in modern K-pop is a lot deeper than just having cool concert souvenir to take home at the end of the night.
This is the story of the humble lightstick.
What are lightsticks?
Looking like a cross between a magical girl anime wand and a souped-up flashlight, these LED sticks are powered by AAA batteries, include Bluetooth capability, and have captured the burning hearts (and wallets) of thousands of adoring fans. Not only do they define the idols' group identity, they define the community behind them.
You'd be hard-pressed to find a group right now (especially belonging to the "big three" as they're called — SM, YG, and JYP Entertainment) that doesn't have a lightstick. Their designs are like miniature works of art, some neutral and elegant, some insanely intricate.
EXO fans showing off their lightsticks in 2016. Credit: JEAN CHUNG / Getty Images
Many groups try to personally customize the shape. They sometimes base the design on their logo or another easily recognizable symbolic fandom reference. There are weapons (BLACKPINK), animals (GOT7), plants (Highlight), and even vegetables (MAMAMOO). That uniqueness easily lends itself to lightsticks becoming collector's items. Before 2016, VIXX fans could buy six of the Version 1 lightsticks to form the full shape of a star.
Much like how fan groups have their own moniker, each group's lightstick also has its own name -- EXO has the "Pharynx," TWICE has the "Candy Bong" (bong means "stick," ya stoners), and BTS has the "ARMY Bomb" (which we don't recommend saying near any kind of security or police).
Perfect for whacking your enemies.
Credit: choicemusicla.com
Forget snow globes, look at this little beauty.
The higher the concert production value, and the more popular the group becomes, the more involved the lightsticks can be. You might get a sea of one singular color, or you might get an entire rainbow of color-changing lights. But flashy or simple, they're ultimately all collaborative tools for good — a visual representation of millions of fans worldwide coming together to show their idols just how much they mean to them.
But lightsticks have come a long way, and their designs and capabilities have only gotten better and better as each new generation of groups have emerged.
The brightest oceans: A K-Pop lightstick history
Across the "generations" of K-Pop, there have always been ways to express communal hype. To get an idea of where the specific tradition of lightsticks originated, Mashable spoke to Jayu (she declined to provide her last name for professional reasons), who has been deeply invested in K-Pop fandoms for more than 10 years and has participated in many fan projects.
Jayu explained, "In every generation of fandom, there are different tactics to demonstrate solidarity and strength [of fan groups]. First generation [early to late '90s groups, such as SHINHWA, SEO TAIJI & BOYS, H.O.T, g.o.d, S.E.S.] used colored raincoats, balloons, and paper."
She noted that this trend traces back to having a fandom color as a distinguishable group signifier, which applied to things like the logo and merch — but also to the earliest lightsticks.
"Fandoms were, and still are to a lesser extent, very serious about that. I'm talking official Pantone codes, fan wars that started when rookie artists picked colors too close to their seniors, etc. Newer groups started to have to chose multiple colors — for example TWICE is two-toned, and Ha Sungwoon is three-toned."
Their designs are like miniature works of art.
But lightsticks, as we know them today, didn't really come into play until the second generation of idols (which include TVXQ, SS501, and Super Junior). Back then, they were essentially just slightly fancier glow sticks. There were two primary purposes for their creation — it doesn't feel like it needs saying, but obviously the first was just to have fun. The second was to more effectively demonstrate that solidarity and distinguish yourself from other fandoms.
The older generation fandoms were excited to have lightsticks because it reduced the complications that could arise at concerts where multiple idol groups performed at once (including solo or non-idol artists, who could apparently also have their own fandom colors). This included the annual Dream Concert, which is the largest joint concert of K-Pop groups that has been held since 1995.
Jayu said that the most accurate description of the sentiment felt at those events was "'the purpose of me going is not for ME to see THEM, but for THEM to see US.'"
The first lightsticks were almost exclusively sold at concerts. As Jayu explained, "Each concert would a have slightly different print or design. The sticks would look the same when lit up, but when you turn it off you can see it had '1st concert' and '2nd concert' ED-print. At that point, some other agencies had already started using [these types of] lightsticks, but it's not as prevalent as it is today."
However BIGBANG is most often credited with creating the first "official" lightstick (sometimes referred to more as a "fanlight"): the Bang Bong. Their lightstick strategy was to set themselves apart from other fandoms using the shape of the design, rather than just color.
After BIGBANG, for the purpose of better identification, Jayu said, "There were multiple ideas fans put forth to make their 'ocean' stand out. For example, TVXQ fans mass-ordered connectors so their T-shaped lightsticks could bind together to look like this."
Another tactic was to make the lightstick much brighter than other fan lights. The trend originated when SHINee released an official lightstick that unintentionally happened to be super bright. (Fans joked that they could be used as "blackout" or "emergency" flashlights.) This soon evolved into fans creating their own fan-designed super lightsticks called the "Shabat."
But ultimately other fandoms started adopting BIGBANG's idea of lightsticks because, as Jayu said, "It became infinitely more difficult to distinguish fandoms just by color alone with 200 groups debuting each year (and I mean literally 200.)"
It was really with the fourth generation groups (among them Seventeen, BTS, and GOT7) that lightsticks became super widespread. These groups probably never even had the simple version of a lightstick (especially those from smaller agencies). According to Jayu, "SM was the last big agency (or agency period) to adopt official lightsticks in 2018, and by the time SM did it, virtually every group had a lightstick."
The lightstick industry — selling, knock-offs, and customization
These days, if you have a hankering to join the "wave," you can buy your very own lightstick at most every concert venue, as well as from official online shops and third-party online vendors.
But they won't come cheap. Most official lightsticks retail for between $40 and 60. (Some groups do offer budget options, such as lightstick keychains and rings.) However, they can easily become collectors items, as groups often come out with multiple versions of their lightstick as they advance in the industry.
"Old lightsticks that are specific to a certain concert locations, as well as old versions that are no longer produced are traded as VERY rare items," Jayu told Mashable. "Although any official lightstick available for sale at concerts is always a little less rare than gift lightsticks, which only come with the ticket in certain Japanese events."
Even fan-made, unofficial lightsticks aren't really knockoffs, so much as they are meant to show off your "bias" (or you favorite member, for you locals). Those who buy official lightsticks might buy one of these too just to flex their love for their favorite member.
There's also a whole mini industry on Etsy, Twitter, and fansites around customizable aspects for lightsticks now, too — decals, charms, stickers, etc.
This includes fans taking customization into their own hands as well, by literally painting and bedazzling their sticks. After all, if you've thrown down that much cash, you might as well put some glitter on that baby.
Another important aspect of custom lightstick merchandising are unofficial fan slings, or the straps. Much like how Nintendo practically screams at you to put on a strap before you play any game using a Wii remote, straps are deemed necessary for lightsticks. There's the implication that you could always grip your stick without one (like a commoner, or a local) — but there's always the danger of flinging your precious baby away while you're waving it around wildly.
But despite the personalized elements, the core values of lightstick use still boil down to creating a group experience and an atmosphere for the performing groups.
How exactly do fans use lightsticks at concerts?
Waving around a stick of colored light with reckless abandon is fun. But you know what's even more fun? Color coordination that's synched to the music via Bluetooth!
The price tag of lightsticks is pretty directly proportional to how much tech is packed in every one. While older lightsticks mostly had one color and one light function, now the possibilities are endless.
For the BTS ARMY Bomb, there's an app that pairs to your seat during a concert, and a lighting team at the venue controls which color ocean appears in which sections during certain numbers. On your own though, you can use Bluetooth to connect to your lightstick at any time, and then you can change the colors or strobe the lights to your heart's desire.
Fans care so deeply about their idols seeing the colored ocean that they'll go to great lengths to make that happen, with or without the idol company's support. For example, when SHINee came to Canada in 2017, "the concert organizer did not arrange for any sales of lightsticks, and didn't confirm that [they wouldn't sell them] until super late," Jayu told Mashable.
The price tag of lightsticks is pretty directly proportional to how much tech is packed in every one.
"Early Japanese concert lightsticks were free gifts that come with a ticket. So Japanese SHINee fans ended up having a LOT of spare lightsticks. [The SHINee World Japan for SHINee World Vancouver fan project] sent three moving boxes full of lightsticks from Japan to Canada, [and fan volunteers] helped hand those out to local fans that didn't have a chance to purchase a lightstick beforehand."
She says this was important because you couldn't just buy a glow stick that "looked like" pearl aqua green (the fandom color). "It had to be accurate! The Japanese fans paid for shipping too, and they attached cute messages of support to each lightstick. They first mailed them from their individual homes all over Japan to a person, that person then collected everything and shipped them over to Canada, packed everything in bubble wrap, it was a feat."
At that concert, the ocean was almost entirely powered by mailed lightsticks. Above all else, the sense of unity and pride that flows through projects like these shows that lightsticks are more than just flashy souvenirs. They're a movement.
The power of lightsticks for good (and evil)
As with any group movement, there is power in numbers. Lightstick oceans can show incredible support — but also incredible disrespect.
Fandom disputes over things such as color similarity, copyright claims, and overall mutual hatred can spark a "black ocean" at any time. "Black oceans" are exactly what they sound like — the action of boycotting one or more groups by purposefully turning off your lightsticks, en masse, when the idols start performing on stage.
The most infamous "black ocean" incident occurred during the Dream Concert in 2008 to then-rookie group SNSD aka Girls' Generation. According to Channel Korea, when the girls began performing, they received a 10-minute "black ocean." For reasons which remain unclear, every fandom except their own turned off their lightsticks and plunged the whole stadium into darkness. Two group members reportedly held back tears during the number.
Believe it or not, even BTS, the now world-famous darlings of K-Pop, have been the recipients of a "black ocean." At the Melon Music Awards in 2016, Channel Korea reports that BTS received one from EXO fans because...BTS fans had done it to EXO fans once? As you can see by now, these fanwars are often extremely petty.
But when fans come together for good, there can be some incredibly powerful moments. There are lightstick oceans that have gone down in K-Pop history for what the fans did for their idols. Most notably in 2015, during EXO's "EXO Planet #2 – The EXO'luXion" tour at the Tokyo Dome. The group had recently lost three of its members. To show strength and solidarity, during the song "Promise" thousands of fans coordinated their lightsticks to spell "EXO – WE ARE ONE" across the stadium.
More importantly, lightsticks can effect fans on a personal level too. One BTS fan named Chanté told Mashable that while she originally would only use her ARMY Bomb for concerts, "now I also use it for when I'm in a depressive state. BTS's music has helped me tackle a lot of mental health issues so sometimes, as a way to try and enjoy myself a bit, I will bring out the lightstick, connect it to my phone and make it into my favorite colors, and then just dance around listening to music with it."
Fans unpack the ARMY Bombs they bought prior to a BTS concert at the Stade-de-France stadium near Paris. Credit: GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT/AFP/Getty Images
The truth is, though, that unless you're the K-Pop equivalent of a Deadhead, following your idol group around to every stop on their tour, you may only use a lightstick a handful of times in your life. And that's okay.
It may just be worth it to splurge on that one special moment, the ability to be a part of something larger than yourself, something that represents a collective love beyond your own personal affinity.
If people can spend $300 on a tasting menu at a Michelin-starred restaurant for that once-in-a-lifetime experience, than it can be worth it to be, for just one night, a single spark of light in an ocean of color. If anything, just to see the look in those idols' eyes when the wave rises.
UPDATE: June 19, 2019, 4:32 p.m. EDT Jayu was incorrectly credited in a previous version of the article as being part of the SHINee Canada fan project in 2017.


text:
PSLS • News • PS4 News, Trophies, Reviews, and More
Dark Souls 3 Initially Entered Production Without Series Creator Hidetaka Miyazaki
Michael BriersTuesday, November 17, 2015
While his return to the franchise he helped create had long been on the cards, Series Creator Hidetaka Miyazaki has revealed that Dark Souls 3 initially began production without him. Only when the early build of the RPG sequel began to encounter "speed bumps" was he approached to take point.
That's according to the man himself who, in a recent interview with IGN, recounted From Software's early development process, and why he completely overhauled the embryonic build upon his return.
When the idea for Dark Souls 3 came to me it was from From's President. Not the idea itself, but the president asked me to get on the Dark Souls 3 project for which the prototyping was hitting some speed bumps. It was quite early. It's basically been built from the ground up. So there's no sense of having something that was made which was then touched up.
Returning to his creative mainstay after launching Bloodborne on PS4 earlier this year, Miyazaki then went on to discuss the Souls series as a whole. In his eyes, now was "the perfect time" for him to return to From Software's franchise.
I was reminiscing of the things I could have done in Dark Souls that weren't possible in Bloodborne, and was reminded of the beauty of fantasy. It was the perfect time to return to Dark Souls… and inject some new ideas.
Dark Souls 3 will make its bow in Japan on March 24, 2016, and if a leaked retail listing is to be believed, From Software's threequel is on course to launch for North America and Europe on April 12.
[Source: IGN]
Tags: Bandai Namco Entertainment, Dark Souls, Dark Souls III, From Software, Hidetaka Miyazaki
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