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How Newark became one of the greatest jazz cities in the world
History has defined the New Jersey city as a hub for a host of jazz musicians from Sarah Vaughan to Christian McBride, and it remains a vibrant destination for fans of the genre
Tammy La Gorce
@TammyNiceword
Fri 11 Nov 2016 11.25 EST Last modified on Tue 14 Feb 2017 12.33 EST
Dianne Reeves with Christian McBride. Photograph: New Jersey Performing Arts Center
A year before he died in 1977, the blind jazz genius Rahsaan Roland Kirk inspired an impromptu parade in Newark, New Jersey. One minute he was playing the downtown club Sparky J's. The next he was leading his band, pied-piper-like, across the street to the Key Club, a different nightspot, while still making music on one of the three saxes he was known to play in unison and in harmony.
"It was legendary," said Junius Williams, a Newark author and educator who also saw Dizzy Gillespie at Sparky J's back in the day.
Five of the best young female jazz musicians
It was also kind of prescient. In 2016, Newark is one nonstop, ongoing, jazz parade: Wynton Marsalis, the Robert Glasper Experiment, Dianne Reeves, Phil Perry, David Sanborn and Anjelique Kidjo have been in and out town for shows. Dorthaan Kirk, the widow of Rahsaan who goes by the nickname "Newark's first lady of jazz", has hosted longtime greats including Freddy Cole, Jon Faddis and Rufus Reid at a pair of local series she organizes (both of them running through 2017, one of them free). And by the end of the year, a new, intimate club called Clement's Place connected to the city's renowned Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers-Newark will have attracted the TS Monk Sextet and the soul-threaded and Eubie Blake Award-winning Houston Person Quartet.
Behind all the action is a celebration of the city's birthday – 2016 marks Newark's 350th year – that, together with the TD James Moody jazz festival, an annual celebration of jazz running through the end of November, has revived its reputation as a serious jazz town.
The Grammy-winning bassist and bandleader Christian McBride, who is performing at Moody Fest on 18 November alongside Sharon Jones, Bettye LaVette and the James Brown Alumni Band at the city's most thriving jazz venue, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, saw it coming.
"Newark's place in jazz history includes Sarah Vaughan, Wayne Shorter, James Moody, Woody Shaw and Larry Young, among others. That coupled with its modern-day vibrancy makes Newark one of the greatest jazz cities in the world," McBride said in early November from Europe, where he was touring.
He is especially qualified to say so. McBride first played in Newark as a young performer 26 years ago and, since 2012, has been NJPAC's jazz adviser; he also hosts the NPR show Jazz Night in America, a co-production with Lincoln Center and WBGO-FM, the only full-time jazz format station broadcast in New York and New Jersey. On 20 November he will be among the judges of what John Schreiber, founder of the Moody festival and NJPAC's president and CEO, called one of the centerpieces of a monthlong event: the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Competition.
"Jazz singing is bred in the bone. And Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald were kind of No 1 and No 2 in terms of the great individual voices of jazz singing," Schreiber said. "Sarah Vaughan was an authentic Newark girl – she went to high school here and lived a lot of her life here. And so I said, 'OK, what can we do to honor Sarah?'"
That was five years ago, when Schreiber signed on with NJPAC after decades of producing and curating festivals including Newport Jazz and JVC Jazz.
Sharon Jones will play the TD James Moody jazz festival in Newark later in November. Photograph: New Jersey Performing Arts Center
The result is the upcoming competition in which five finalists, whittled from a pool of hundreds around the world who sent online auditions to Newark this spring, perform before McBride and four fellow jazz-luminary judges – Dianne Reeves among them – plus a packed NJPAC house.
The winner is announced at the end of the night and walks away with a recording contract, a $5,000 prize and a slot to perform at the Montreal Jazz Fest next summer.
Is jazz entering a new golden age?
"She also has a right to say she won the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Competition. And then all of a sudden she has some stature with the public," Schreiber said.
Jazz stature comes in a couple of shapes around Newark. There is the kind earned through sheer chops, like winning the vocal competition or commanding a massive audience during one of the organ jams held sporadically at Symphony Hall, a historic jazz venue not far from NJPAC. There is the kind Dorthaan Kirk has acquired through knowing everyone from Jimmy Heath to Gregory Porter and attracting them to town for her jazz series. (One is Dorthaan's Place, a jazz brunch at NJPAC; the other is Jazz Vespers at Bethany Baptist church. Both are monthly, Bethany is free.)
There is also a kind of stature bestowed through scholarship. The night before the Sarah Vaughan competition, for example, McBride's Trio will play The Divine One, a concert at NJPAC honoring Vaughan that includes a film about her life and a panel discussion hosted by the longtime jazz producer Todd Barkan, also artistic director at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola.
Like a lot of the smartest jazz events around town, it's being sponsored by the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers-Newark.
The jazz institute, founded in 1952, is the most extensive jazz archive and library in the US. It includes more than 150,000 recordings and 6,000 books, and treasures such as Miles Davis's trumpet and Curly Russell's bass. Before Ken Burns made his 10-part, Emmy-nominated mini-series Jazz in 2000, he spent a year exploring the institute's trove of recordings. Forest Whitaker visited the archives in 2011 for research on a film about Louis Armstrong, And Michael K Smith spent some time browsing there after his role as Chalky White on HBO's Boardwalk Empire got him interested 20s- and 30s-era jazz.
Carrie Jackson performing at Clement's Place. Photograph: Ed Berger
Earlier this year, the Jazz Institute entered the club business with Clement's Place, a 75-seat venue done up in jazz memorabilia on the ground floor of a historical neoclassical Newark skyscraper. Minus the whiffs of cigar smoke and seal-fresh whiskey (Clement's pours beer and wine only), it's a throwback to the tight-knit jazz communities documented in the archives.
"I didn't expect it, but I love running the bar," said Wayne Winbourne, the institute's executive director. Clement's is named for Dr Clement A Price, a beloved Rutgers-Newark professor and devoted jazz fan who died suddenly in 2014. "We're open to the community, so we're seeing a cross-section of folks from Newark who are bringing real energy and dynamism."
They're bringing it to monthly jam sessions organized in cooperation with NJPAC as part of the 350th birthday celebration, and they're bringing it to more subdued events such as a series of curated listening sessions Winbourne says he is "sprinkling in" at Clement's once or twice a month, between shows and jams. There's already been listening sessions on very early Louis Armstrong and Harry "Sweets" Edison.
"We've got incredible experts on staff who are just extremely knowledgeable," said Winbourne. "Sometimes we get 10 people, sometimes we get 30. But we'll have a drink, then we'll play a cut. Then we'll have another drink, and play another cut. It's another way for us to bring the archives to the public, to draw upon the expertise of our staff and to engage the community. We're tapping into an opportunity there."
There's also an opportunity, because of the institute's reputation "and because I know folks", said Winbourne, to draw artists who might otherwise skip Newark when playing across the river in New York.
"We have the Lance Bryant Quartet coming in later this year – he played with Lionel Hampton – and a concert coming up with the flutist Elise Wood. And I'm hoping to get Steve Wilson and Luis Bonilla in here," said Winbourne.
He may not have to try too hard: "There's a jazz atmosphere now that's so intimate, where we all feel so connected," Winbourne said. "I think all of us here in Newark are looking at the rise of something special, something people are going to be talking about a long time."


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6 Obscure Films Of 2013: The Call, Copperhead, It's A Disaster, See Girl Run, UnHung Hero, Would You Rather
Well, it's that time of year when I look at the list of the films that I've seen over the past 12 months and I realize that there's quite a few that I haven't gotten around to reviewing yet. Here are my thoughts on six of them.
The Call (dir by Brad Anderson)
Abigail Breslin is kidnapped by a serial killer. While trapped in the trunk of the killer's car, Breslin manages to call 911. Breslin's call is answered by Halle Berry, a veteran operator who is recovering from a trauma that — by an amazing and totally implausible coincidence — was caused by the same guy who has just kidnapped Breslin.
Before it became a feature film, The Call was originally developed as a weekly TV series and, as I watched, it was easy to imagine weekly episodes that would all feature a different guest star calling 911 and needing help. For the first hour or so, The Call is well-made and acted but undistinguished. However, during the final 30 minutes, the entire film suddenly goes crazy with Breslin running around in her bra, Berry turning into a blood thirsty vigilante, and the killer suddenly getting very verbose. However, those 30 minutes of pure insanity were just what The Call needed to be memorable. There are some films that definitely benefit from going over-the-top and The Call is one of them.
Copperhead (dir by Ronald Maxwell)
Copperhead is a historical drama that takes place during the Civil War. In upstate New York, farmer Abner Breech (Billy Campbell) is ardently opposed to both the Civil War and the union cause. In most movies, this would make Abner the villain but, in Copperhead, he's portrayed as being a man of principle who, by refusing to compromise on his views, is ostracized and ultimately persecuted by the rest of his village. Abner's views also bring him into conflict with his own son, who is pro-Union.
Copperhead is a slow-moving film that features some rather good performances along with some fairly bad ones. However, I'm a history nerd so I enjoyed it. It certainly tells a different story from what we've come to expect from American films about the Civil War.
It's A Disaster (dir by Todd Berger)
Of the six films reviewed in this post, It's A Disaster is the one to see. In this darker than dark comedy, Julia Stiles brings her new boyfriend (David Cross) to Sunday brunch with 6 of her closest friends. During the brunch, terrorists explode a dirty bomb in the city. With everyone trapped inside the house and waiting for the world to either end or somehow revert back to normal, long-simmering resentments come to the forefront.
To say anything else about It's a Disaster would be unfair so I'll just say that it's a very funny film, featuring excellent work from both Stiles and Cross. If Jean-Paul Sartre was alive and writing today, he would probably end up writing something very similar to It's a Disaster.
See Girl Run (dir by Nate Meyer)
Bleh! That's probably the best description I can give you of this film. It's just a whole lot of bleh.
Emmie (Robin Tunney) is unhappy with her boring marriage so she runs back to her Maine hometown, stops wearing makeup and washing her hair, and pines for her high school boyfriend, Jason (Adam Scott), who works at a sea food restaurant. Jason also happens to be friends with Emmie's depressed brother, Brandon (Jeremy Strong). It's the same basic plot as Young Adult, just with no humor and a lot more talking. In Young Adult, it was hard not to admire Charlize Theron's wonderfully misguided character. In See Girl Run, you just want to tell Robin Tunny to take a shower, put on some clothes that don't look like they were stolen from a hospital storage closet, and stop whining all the time.
It's difficult to put into words just how much I hated this movie. This is one of those films that critics tend to describe as being "a film for adults." I have to agree — this is a movie for really boring, depressing adults who like to talk and talk about how their lives haven't worked out. If See Girl Run is what being an adult is like, I'll just continue to be an immature brat, thank you very much.
UnHung Hero (dir by Brian Spitz)
So, this is not only the worst documentary of 2013 but it's also quite probably one of the worst documentaries ever made. The film opens with footage of Patrick Moote (who claims to be a comedian) asking his girlfriend to marry him. As Moote goes on (and on) to tell us, she turns down his proposal and then dumps him because, according to her, his penis is too small. Moote spends the rest of the film talking to various people and asking them whether size really matters.
Well, he could have just asked me and saved a lot of time. I'm sorry if this endangers any fragile male egos but yes, size does matter. If Moote's penis really is as tiny as he claims it is, I probably would have turned down his proposal as well. Then again, Moote could be hung like Jamie Foxx and I'd probably still refuse to marry him because, quite frankly, he's the whiniest and most annoying person that I've ever seen. He's like an even less charming version of Morgan Spurlock. What Patrick Moote never seems to understand is that size matters but personality matters even more.
Would You Rather (dir by David Guy Levy)
Would you rather have a root canal or sit through this piece of crap? Having seen Would You Rather, I can tell you that it's not an easy question to answer.
Jeffrey Combs plays a sadistic millionaire who invited a bunch of strangers (including Brittany Snow, John Heard, June Squibb, and Sasha Grey) to his mansion and forces them to play an elaborate and deadly game of Would You Rather. Unfortunately, none of the characters are interesting, the film's sadism is more boring than shocking, and talented actor Combs is totally wasted as the one-note villain.
Posted in Film, Film Review | Tagged Abigail Breslin, Adam Scott, Billy Campbell, Brad Anderson, Brian Spitz, Brittany Snow, Copperhead, David Cross, David Guy Levy, Films, Halle Berry, It's A Disaster, Jeffrey Combs, Jeremy Strong, John Heard, Julia Stiles, June Squibb, Lisa Marie Bowman, Movies, Nate Meyer, Patrick Moote, reviews, Robin Tunney, Ronald Maxwell, Sasha Grey, See Girl Running, The Call, Todd Berger, UnHung Hero, Would You Rather | 2 Comments
Ghosts of Christmas Past #18: Sabrina The Teenage Witch 3.11 "Christmas Amnesia"
I had so much fun with yesterday's Ghost of Christmas Past that I decided, "Why not see how Sabrina celebrated Christmas the next year?"
She celebrated it by accidentally casting a spell that made the entire world forget about Christmas! Agck!
Christmas Amnesia originally aired on December 11th, 1998.
Posted in TV, TV Review, TV Show | Tagged christmas, Lisa Marie Bowman, review, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, show, television, tv, TV Show | Leave a comment
44 Days of Paranoia #28: The Departed (dir by Martin Scorsese)
For our latest entry in the 44 Days of Paranoia, we take look at the film that the Academy named the best picture of 2006, Martin Scorsese's The Departed.
The Departed takes the plot of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs and transports it to Boston. For years, crime lord Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson) has ruled South Boston with an iron fist. However, police Captain Queenan (Martin Sheen) and his assistant, Sgt. Dignan (Mark Wahlberg) think that they have finally found a way to take Costello down. They recruit police academy trainee Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) to go undercover and infiltrate Costello's organization. To help establish his cover, Costigan drops out of the academy and does time in prison on a fake assault charge.
Meanwhile, Costello has an agent of his own. Years earlier, Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) was specifically recruited and trained by Costello to become a mole inside the Massachusetts State Police. Sullivan soon finds himself also working under Queenan.
While the amoral Sullivan finds it easy to deal with his dual role of being both a cop and a criminal, the far more emotionally unstable Costigan has a much more difficult time of it. Not helping is the fact that Costello turns out to be a legitimate madman who spends half of his time dismembering people and the other half serving as a secret informant to the FBI. While Sullivan smoothly works his way up the ranks, Costigan pops pills and becomes more and more paranoid.
Eventually, both Costigan and Sullivan are ordered to uncover the double agents in their respective organizations. What they don't realize is that, even as they both attempt to learn the other's identity, they are both seeing the same woman, psychiatrist Madolyn (Vera Farmiga.)
In the scene below, which happens to be my favorite from the entire film, Costigan and Madolyn make love after Madolyn assures Costigan that she doesn't have a cat. That makes sense when you consider that Costigan is essentially a rat.
I have to admit that, as much as I did appreciate certain parts of the film, I was still disappointed the first time I saw The Departed. It wasn't so much that the movie itself was bad as much as it was the fact that it didn't live up to the standard set by previous Scorsese films. The film seemed to somehow be both conventional and overly busy at the same time, with the constantly moving camera and the propulsive soundtrack feeling more like they were more the result of a director trying to be like Scorsese than Scorsese himself. While I appreciated the comedic relief of Alec Baldwin's performance as Queenan's rival on the force and I thought that Matt Damon made a compelling villain, both Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Sheen seemed to have been bitten by the overacting bug. It was hard not to feel somewhat disappointed that, after waiting for over three decades to be honored by the Academy, Scorsese finally won his Oscar for The Departed.
However, with subsequent viewings, The Departed has grown on me. Once I was freed up from the expectations that come from watching a Scorsese film for the first time, I was able to enjoy The Departed for what it actually was, a very well-made and entertaining crime drama that occasionally flirted with being something more.
Watching The Departed for a second time, I was better able to appreciate the sly humor of Jack Nicholson's performance. As played by Nicholson, Frank Costello becomes both the devil incarnate and a somewhat pathetic relic who is incapable of understanding that his time has passed. Watching Nicholson for a second time also led to me better appreciating Martin Sheen's performance. Since Nicholson and Sheen are meant to the equivalent of the angel and the devil sitting on Damon and DiCaprio's shoulders, it was necessary for Sheen to be as virtuous as Nicholson was demonic.
By the time that I watched The Departed for the third time, it was a lot more obvious to me that the entire film was, more or less, meant to be a satire. What Nicholson's criminal empire and Sheen's police force have in common is that neither one of them works the way that they're supposed to. If there's anything to be learned from the film, it's that nothing means much of anything. (The Coen Brothers would be proud.)
Finally, after multiple viewings, it becomes obvious that The Departed is very much a Scorsese film. Even if his direction isn't quite as showy as viewers have come to expect, there's still enough little touches and details that remind us that this film was made by a master. To cite the obvious example that everyone cites, just watch for the X's that always somehow manage to appear on the wall or the carpet before anyone in the film dies. With multiple viewings, It also became obvious to me that even if this film was set in Boston and not New York and even if the characters were Irish and not Italian, this film was still thematically pure Scorsese, dealing with themes of guilt, identity, punishment, and martyrdom.
Like all worthwhile films, The Departed is one that grows better with subsequent viewings.
Other Entries In The 44 Days of Paranoia
Clonus
Winter Kills
Interview With The Assassin
The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald
Beyond The Doors
Three Days of the Condor
They Saved Hitler's Brain
Police, Adjective
Quiz Show
Flying Blind
God Told Me To
Wag the Dog
Scream and Scream Again
Capricorn One
Seven Days In May
Posted in Film, Film Review | Tagged 44 Days of Paranoia, Alec Baldwin, Anthony Anderson, Film, Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Lisa Marie Bowman, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Scorsese, Martin Sheen, Matt Damon, movie, Ray McAnally, review, The Departed, Vera Farmiga | 13 Comments
Trailer: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Posted on December 18, 2013 by Arleigh
To say that 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes went a long way in washing out the taste out of fans mouth after having seen Tim Burton's reboot of Planet of the Apes would be an understatement. Rupert Wyatt was able to bring the franchise back to prominence by actually treating the story as a sort of scifi allegory instead of a platform to once again exercise one's filmmaking quirks.
It was a no-brainer that a sequel will follow up the success of the 2011 film. But with a fast-moving schedule there were several casualties. Rupert Wyatt didn't think he had enough time to shoot the film the way he wanted to so he was replaced by Matt Reeves. James Franco is also gone from the project. Instead we get several veteran actors like Gary Oldman, Jason Clarke, Keri Russell and Kirk Acevedo joining Andy Serkis.
The film seems to take places a decade or so after the release of the deadly virus at the end of the first film. Humanity has survived both the virus and the wars which followed it, but civilization as we know it now are a thing of the past. With humanity trying to rebuild it must now deal with a rising nation of genetically-enhanced apes led by Andy Serkis' Caesar. With Gary Oldman on one side seeming to be the leader of humanity's survivors I don't see peace as being a goal in this film.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is set for a July 11, 2014 release.
Posted in Film | Tagged 20th Century Fox, Amanda Silver, Andy Serkis, Chernin Entertainment, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Duane Cothren, Gary Oldman, J.D. Evermore, James Franco, Jason Clarke, Jocko Sims, John R. Mangus, Judy Greer, Karin Konoval, Keri Russell, Kirk Acevedo, Kodi-Smit McPhee, Larramie "Doc" Shaw, Lucky Johnson, Mark Bomback, Matt Reeves, Michael Giacchino, Mustafa Harris, Nick Thurston, Pierre Boulle, Planet of the Apes, Rebekah Jean Morgan, Richard King, Rick Jaffa, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Rupert Wyatt, scifi film, Scott Z. Burns, sequel, teaser, Terry Notary, Tim Burton, Toby Kebbell, trailer | 2 Comments
A Glorious Fantasy, Part Three: Final Fantasy III
Posted on December 18, 2013 by Semtex Skittle
Once again I return to this ongoing series, in which I attempt to play through every game in the Final Fantasy franchise that I can get my hands on, from FF1 through FF13-2, and a variety of the spinoffs and other titles not included in the 'main series'.
For those who are unfamiliar with my premise (read: probably everyone), here's an almost comically thorough recap:
Most people have already played many/most/all of the games that I'm going to write about in this series (weirdly, as I compiled the list of games, I personally have not played a fair number of them). I don't care. I'm going to look at all (most? I'm bad with structure, we'll see how long this lasts) of the following things from these games:
– Some objective data. What version of the game did I play, and why did I select that one. Since it is now obvious to me that I'm going to play a fair number of 'remakes' in the early Final Fantasy games, I'm also going to research the differences and try to note some of them here. This was a big part of my experience with FF1, which I am now intending to revisit as a part of this series later.
– Is the game any good? Seriously! I'm sure some of these games suck!
– Is the answer to that question, "It just doesn't hold up"? Why? <– This question is not going to last into the more modern games, but I suspect it could affect games even as recent as FF7, the graphics of which I'm afraid will hurt my brain.
– How would I place this game in a historical context? I want to watch the series evolve, devolve, side-volve and revolve as I go.
– Did I enjoy this game? What were the emotions and insane facial expressions I went through while playing it?
– How many times I frantically Googled maps for enormous maze-like dungeons because I no longer have the patience to solve them on my own?
– Was it… challenging? Were these games ever hard? Does the challenge ebb and flow?
– No MMORPGs. Sorry FF14 fans, I don't 'do' MMORPGs anymore. Plus, the plan here hopefully doesn't involve spending a bunch of money acquiring and (especially) subscribing to games.
I think all of this is extremely important knowledge, and that the human race will be improved by my research.
Version played: 'Unofficial' NES fan-translation by Alex W. Jackson and Neill Corlett.
This time, I played Final Fantasy III – not to be confused with Final Fantasy VI, which was originally brought to North America and Europe as "Final Fantasy III" on the Super Nintendo (as was done with Final Fantasy IV, brought over as Final Fantasy II). No, this was the original Final Fantasy III, another game in the series that I had never played before (this is becoming a thing with me! And here I always called myself a 'fan'!). After my experience with a questionable remake of Final Fantasy I, and the relative ordeal of playing a long JRPG on my phone, with Final Fantasy II… I decided that with this installment I would try to get the 'true' experience.
Much like Final Fantasy II, it's not particularly surprising that I, and presumably many others, have never played this particular installment in the series. It was never translated in its original form, leading (ultimately) to the confusing disparity in the main series' numbering, which in English releases goes FF1, "FF2" (actually 4), "FF3" (actually 6)… then Final Fantasy 7. I think everyone is familiar with this by now, but it's worth pointing out. The very first 'official' translated release of FF3 in North America was in late 2006 (it was originally going to be released on the WonderSwan Colour… a system presumably no one ever actually owned). The 2006 release was over 15 (!!) years after the game was originally released. This version was on the Nintendo DS, and was a full remake, using 3-D graphics. My research indicates that they also re-balanced classes, changed the relative power of individual enemies, and created backstories for the heroes of the piece. Well, screw that noise, am I right?
No, I played the original NES experience.
The Onion Kid is an iconic Final Fantasy image… from a game many people have never played!
Like Final Fantasy 2, Final Fantasy 3 uses the basic connective tissue of a storyline to take us from place to place. As is the case in the first five main series games, the plot revolves around elemental crystals, which have a dramatic impact on the world. In this case, the crystals were used by an ancient civilization, which was both advanced and powerful. Unfortunately, they inadvertently created a 'flood of light' which washed over the land. In order to prevent this from destroying the world, four Warriors of Darkness arose, countering the effects, and bringing the world back into balance. Prophecy speaks of a time in the future when the world will be threatened instead by a wave of darkness, and that Warriors of Light will go ahead and take care of that nonsense.
However, unlike Final Fantasy II, which does not really advance the premise of the game beyond its initial shell (Palamecia has declared war on everyone, watch out!), but simply takes us through a series of events related to it, the basic premise of Final Fantasy 3 evolves as we go along. While the player characters are still just proxies or avatars of the player (for the last time, at least in the main series) and lack distinct personalities or backgrounds, other characters in the world are fleshed out well beyond the basics. This game is also the first one of the series where the motivations of the villain are explored in any detail (it's not much detail, but it's definitely there). Later Final Fantasy villains are often explored in a great deal of detail (not all of them, but many!), so this was definitely something that struck me.
Final Fantasy 3 is much more significant, however, because it introduces the famous 'Job' system. While Final Fantasy 1 contains many of the same classes, they are picked at the start, evolved once in the story, and otherwise cannot be changed. Final Fantasy 3 introduces the concept that characters can change jobs at almost any time outside of combat. Each character gains levels within the specific jobs in addition to advancing in character level. The 'job levels' don't do as much in this game as they will in later ones (notably Final Fantasy V, and Final Fantasy Tactics, among others), seeming to determine mostly damage dealt or healing performed. More jobs are unlocked as the player progresses through the game, culminating in the 'ultimate' jobs, Ninja and Sage, which are capable of using all weapons and armor and casting all spells, respectively. Also introduced in this game is the Summoner job! Yes! It's the dawn of Chocobo, Ifrit, Shiva, Ramuh, Titan, Odin, Leviathan, Bahamut, the mighty summons which can have a dramatic effect on the battle. Bahamut, in fact, seems clearly to be the strongest magical attack in the game!
I really enjoyed this one, guys! I will admit that the game can be quite difficult. I found a number of bosses throughout the game that I was forced to grind before I could realistically challenge. This was particularly true of the final boss, who could be the most (unfortunately, mindlessly) challenging final boss in the whole of the franchise. I think that honour is generally considered to reside with Zeromus, but I honestly found the battle with Cloud of Darkness to be much more frustrating. Other bosses, I felt like I defeated with little more than dumb luck.
Also, unfortunately, jobs just not that well balanced… later jobs are strictly better. To an extent, this is understandable: as your party's level increases, it's fitting to gain more powerful abilities, but it's to the point where there's little reason to overthink your party composition. Aside from a couple of very specific challenges which can be made easier with specific classes, I found it was generally best to adhere to three powerful physical attackers, and one healer, until the very end, when it made sense to have two Sages since they can both Summon and heal. At times, my party actually consisted of four physical attackers with one off-healer and Hi-Potions serving as my only means of recovery… and I honestly felt like I was better off that way. Magical attacks in particular seem pointless after the first third of the game or so (this logic does not apply to Summons, which become one of the most effective forms of attack later in the game, especially against groups of regular enemies).
I spent a fair amount of time on Google for this game, but I would say definitely less so compared to Final Fantasy II or (especially) Final Fantasy I. I guess I just don't like big maze-dungeons anymore, if I ever did… I like to know where I'm going, avoid some random encounters, and keep progressing steadily. I already spent enough time grinding in this game, so I'll make no apologies.
Oh, and as for the game holding up? Obviously, the graphics are totally primitive when you decide to play the original NES version! However, the parts of this game that really feel a little 'primitive' (not the right word, I need a better one, one thing I really liked about this game was being able to see the origin point for stuff like the job system, the focus on the villains and their sad/tortured motivations, etc., that are hallmarks of many later games) were more mechanical. The job system here just isn't as good or as fun as it is in later games where it becomes much more customizeable, and Xande and the Cloud of Darkness are certainly not going to rank among the 'great' video game villains of all time. The game was good, clean, fun though… I'd probably recommend it to any true fan of the JRPG form.
And that's it for FF3. Comment away. Join me next time, when this ongoing series will take on a true juggernaut of the Final Fantasy franchise… Final Fantasy IV!
Posted in Game Review, Gaming | Tagged FF3, FFIII, Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy 3, final fantasy iii, glorious fantasy, Square-Enix, Squaresoft, weirdly ambitious nostalgia project about historical context and the evolution of one of gaming's longest running series | Leave a comment

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I attended a function last night where a speaker alienated a large group of the audience. It got me thinking about the way that the focus of a message can make or break a communicator's connection with the people they want to reach.
It comes down to a simple question: is this communication about me (and what I want to say to you), or is it about you (and what you would like to hear)?
Last night's function was a school concert, and the speaker in question was a spokesperson for the church where the event was held. I felt alienated because the speaker talked about the church's history, its regular events, and his own experiences in getting involved. My interest factor? Zero. My sense that the brief presentation was appropriate for this audience? Below Zero.
At the time, I thought it was a case of an inappropriate speaker taking the stage at the wrong function. But actually it wasn't. The church representative was entitled to speak and welcome us to his venue. And, with a little thought about audience focus, he could have given us a message that connected with us as a group and made us feel welcome.
The speaker gave us a 'me' focus – he talked about the organisation and its history and the people who work there. He even showed us a short video about the church.
But what we needed was a 'you' focus – maybe a short talk for the children about the wonders of Christmas, or something that showed he'd done some research about our school, or maybe even just a simple welcome. Anything that focused on the audience's interest at the time would have been appropriate (i.e., children, performance, and the end of the school year!).
There are many situations where a 'you' focus is the only real option for success. Without a clear 'you' focus, there's very little chance that the message will be heard (or understood or accepted or appreciated or listened to). Last night was a good example of that.
So, other than school concerts, what types of communication call for a 'you' focus? Most, but not all. I suggest that a 'you' focus is almost mandatory when the audience isn't interested in what you've got to say, when the communication environment is cluttered, or when you're asking the audience to make some change.
In other situations, though, it may be appropriate to vary the focus throughout the message. And when you're delivering bad news or providing detailed instruction, a 'me' focus might be more appropriate.
I don't think that the communication medium or genre matter here: thinking about focus is important whether you're having an everyday conversation, writing a speech, sending a quick email, or writing a more thoughtful document.
The take-away message for communicators is this: when planning communication, think carefully about your focus. Put yourself in the shoes of your audience. Is your message most likely to be successful if you build it from your desire to say something (a 'me' or 'organisation' focus) or from your need to develop something that captures the audience's interest (a 'you' focus)? In most situations, a 'you' focus will give you the best chance of success.


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text:
EON Foundation digs into new Kalkarindji project
by Maggie Coggan | Aug 4, 2022
Getting fresh produce into remote regions is a tricky and expensive task. So much so that if the fruit and veggies do arrive, there's often not enough of it, the quality isn't great, and it can cost up to 50 per cent more than it would in urban areas. This has...
The people behind Victoria Daly: Kathryn from Pine Creek
by Maggie Coggan | Jun 24, 2022
The feeling of a small town and strong community is something Kathryn has always been drawn to. And so, when she came to Pine Creek in 2013, she was immediately attached. As she describes, it's the kind of place where everyone says hello, and if something goes wrong,...
Kalkarindji kids cook up a storm
With the usual aged care cook away for a week and no one readily available to replace them, the Kalkarindji School jumped at the chance to help cook and deliver meals to the residents. Kalkarindji School Assistant Principal, Brenton Hobart, said it was a great way for...
It's play time! Pine Creek playground to get $150,000 facelift
Victoria Daly Regional Council (VDRC) received the funding from the Northern Territory's Community Benefit Fund, with the money going towards replacing a damaged shade sail structure and playground equipment beyond repair. With the playground situated in between two...
The people behind Victoria Daly: Barak from Nauiyu
by Maggie Coggan | Jun 7, 2022
In 1983, Barak made the move from Darwin to Nauiyu, arriving in the community with a single bag, some spare thongs, and a pair of footy shorts. In the years since, he has become a pivotal part of the Nauiyu community and Victoria Daly Regional Council. In 2009, he...


About a month ago, Michael and I took a rather impromptu trip. We had the weekend off and no other plans, so we took off to the city I used to call home; Endicott, New York.
Growing up, I moved around a few times, so I have had a couple of "home towns" to claim along my lifetime. New York has always been near and dear to my heart because most of my mom's side of the family lives in Upstate New York including my momma herself. I only spent a handful of years growing up in New York as a young child, but some of the memories I have are as vivid as last weeks' work week to me. One of those memories is of hot air balloons.
For over 30 years Broome County has hosted the annual Spiedie Fest and Balloon Rally. It's a yearly attraction that has caught national attention and brings out folks from all over New York (and the country) to celebrate the "spiedie." For those of you who don't know, a spiedie is a heavenly marinated meat (chicken, pork or lamb) that is added to a sub sandwich with your choice of fixings. There are two brands of spiedie marinating sauces that are notorious in Broome County; Salamida's and Lupo's. Both are wonderful and I refuse to choose between the two, but if you're not a New Yorker and want to try the marinade out for yourself, you can find Salamida's marianade at most local grocery stores here in Virginia! I just picked up a bottle at Food Lion, so next time you feel like grilling chicken, consider trying Salamida's. You won't regret it!
Each year at the Spiedie Fest, they host a hot air balloon rally for the public to buy tickets to catch a ride. As a kid, I remember sitting on my second floor back porch in the wee hours of the morning and watching the hot air balloons float by. Often times, they would be so close to the tops of the houses that we could actually say, "good morning!" I have very few memories as a child, but I distinctly remember watching the hot air balloons and have dreamt about going on one ever since then. Once bucket lists became popular, I put it on my list to go on one and vowed I would make it happen no matter what the cost.
Now that you have the back story, speed up to Spiedie Fest 2015 during the last weekend of July, and WE got to ride in a hot air balloon! Thanks to my gracious mother for gifting us the tickets, Michael and I got to go on our first hot air balloon ride and it was incredible. I have never experienced something so exciting and yet peaceful at the same time. We would absolutely recommend it to anyone who has been the least bit interested; GO!
Without further adieu, our grand adventure!


Rachael Wren is a Brooklyn based painter whose atmospheric abstractions have their source in both landscape and memory. Her work explores the tension between structure and space, geometry and randomness, to create a sense of place where form and air mingle with each other. Rachael received a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and an MFA from the University of Washington. She has exhibited her work in numerous group shows throughout the US, and has had solo exhibitions at the University of Massachusetts and Providence College. Rachael was awarded the Julius Hallgarten Prize in 2006 from the National Academy Museum and an Aljira Fellowship in 2007. She has attended residencies at the Saltonstall Foundation, the Byrdcliffe Art Colony, Vermont Studio Center, and the Anderson Center for Interdisciplinary Studies. Rachael has been a visiting artist-in-resdience at the University of North Carolina and at St. Mary's College of Maryland, and has given lectures about her work at the Weatherspoon Art Museum, the Hartford Art School, Kutztown University, and Rhode Island College.


text:
using namespace Poco::Net;
using namespace Poco::Util;
using namespace std;

#include <sys/types.h>
#include <sys/ioctl.h>
#include <sys/gpio.h>

#include <fcntl.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <time.h>
#include <unistd.h>

class gpio
{
    public:
    gpio()
    {
        m_fd = open("/dev/gpioc0", O_RDWR);

        // Configure pins 20 and 21 for output
        // pin 20 is button "0",
	// pin 21 is button "1"

        struct gpio_pin pinStatus;

        pinStatus.gp_pin = 20;
        int r = ioctl(m_fd, GPIOGETCONFIG, &pinStatus);
        pinStatus.gp_flags = GPIO_PIN_OUTPUT;
        r = ioctl(m_fd, GPIOSETCONFIG, &pinStatus);

        pinStatus.gp_pin = 21;
        r = ioctl(m_fd, GPIOGETCONFIG, &pinStatus);
        pinStatus.gp_flags = GPIO_PIN_OUTPUT;
        r = ioctl(m_fd, GPIOSETCONFIG, &pinStatus);

        // Set initial state to high = relay off

        struct gpio_req rq;
        rq.gp_pin = 20;
        rq.gp_value = GPIO_PIN_HIGH;
        r = ioctl(m_fd, GPIOSET, &rq);
        rq.gp_pin = 21;
        r = ioctl(m_fd, GPIOSET, &rq);

        std::cout << "Relay configured on pins 20 and 21" << std::endl;
    }

    ~gpio()
    {
        // Make certain both relays are "off"

        struct gpio_req rq;
        rq.gp_pin = 20;
        rq.gp_value = GPIO_PIN_HIGH;
        int r = ioctl(m_fd, GPIOSET, &rq);
        rq.gp_pin = 21;
        r = ioctl(m_fd, GPIOSET, &rq);
        close(m_fd);

        std::cout << "Relays opened" << std::endl;
    }

    void toggle(unsigned button)
    {
        struct gpio_req rq;
        rq.gp_pin = 20 + button;
        int r = ioctl(m_fd, GPIOTOGGLE, &rq);

        // Mash the button for a quarter second

        struct timespec ts;
	ts.tv_sec = 0;
	ts.tv_nsec = 250000000;
        nanosleep(&ts, &ts);

        r = ioctl(m_fd, GPIOTOGGLE, &rq);
    }

private:
    int m_fd;
};

struct webSeperators : std::ctype<char>
{
    webSeperators() : std::ctype<char>(get_table()) {}
    static mask const * get_table()
    {
        static mask rc[table_size];
	rc['/'] = std::ctype_base::space;
	rc['?'] = std::ctype_base::space;
	rc['='] = std::ctype_base::space;
	rc['\n'] = std::ctype_base::space;
	return &rc[0];
    }
};

static gpio G;

class MyRequestHandler : public HTTPRequestHandler
{
public:
  virtual void handleRequest(HTTPServerRequest &req, HTTPServerResponse &resp)
  {
    resp.setStatus(HTTPResponse::HTTP_OK);
    resp.setContentType("text/html");

    std::string uri(req.getURI());
    std::cout << "URI is " << uri << std::endl;
    std::istringstream S(uri);

    S.imbue(locale(S.getloc(), new webSeperators));

    // Assume a single button per request

    std::string page, name;
    unsigned button;

    S >> page >> name >> button;
    std::cout << "page: " << page << std::endl;

    if (name == "button")
    {
        std::cout << "name: " << name << std::endl << "button: " << button << std::endl;

        // Mush the button

        G.toggle(button);
    }

    // Respond to the browser

    ostream& out = resp.send();
    out << "
Garage Door Opener
"
        << "<form action=\"" << page << "\" method=\"get\">"
        << "
"
        << "<button name=\"button\" value=\"0\" type=\"submit\">Big Door</button>"
        << "<button name=\"button\" value=\"1\" type=\"submit\">Little Door</button>"
        << "
"
        << "</form>";
    out.flush();

    cout << endl
         << "Response sent for count=" << count
         << " and URI=" << req.getURI() << endl;
  }

private:
  static int count;
};

int MyRequestHandler::count = 0;

class MyRequestHandlerFactory : public HTTPRequestHandlerFactory
{
public:
  virtual HTTPRequestHandler* createRequestHandler(const HTTPServerRequest &)
  {
    return new MyRequestHandler;
  }
};

class MyServerApp : public ServerApplication
{
protected:
  int main(const vector<string> &)
  {
    HTTPServer s(new MyRequestHandlerFactory, ServerSocket(9090), new HTTPServerParams);

    s.start();
    cout << endl << "Server started" << endl;

    waitForTerminationRequest();  // wait for CTRL-C or kill

    cout << endl << "Shutting down..." << endl;
    s.stop();

    return Application::EXIT_OK;
  }
};

int main(int argc, char** argv)
{
  MyServerApp app;
  return app.run(argc, argv);
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Fizer, Paul Louis age 63, passed peacefully in his sleep on June 28, 2011. Memorial service Thursday, July 7, 2011, 11:00 am to 12:00 pm, Estes Funeral Chapel, Inc., 2210 Plymouth Ave N., Mpls. Blessings and written expressions received at the Chapel.


text:
La kanoïta és un mineral de la classe dels inosilicats, del subgrup dels clinopiroxens. Va ser descoberta el 1977 a Kumaishi, Hokkaido, Japó. Va ser anomenada en honor del petròleg japonès Hiroshi Kano.

Característiques
És un inosilicat de cadena simple (com tots els piroxens). Cristal·litza al sistema monoclínic. És dimorf amb la donpeacorita, és a dir que presenten la mateixa fórmula química però diferent sistema cristal·lí (la donpeacorita cristal·litza en el sistema ortoròmbic). A més dels elements presents a la seva fórmula, pot presentar impureses d'alumini, ferro, calci, sodi i potassi.

Formació i jaciments
El jaciment tipus és a la mina Tatehira, Kumaishi, Hokkaido, Japó. Un jaciment de roques metamòrfiques on es trobava associat a cummingtonita. El mineral tipus es troba al Museu Nacional de Ciències del Japó a Tòquio. Al jaciment en què es va descobrir contactava amb roques metamòrfiques amb cummingtonita. Es pot trobar associada a altres minerals com l'spessartina, la cummingtonita manganèsica i la piroxmangita.

Referències

 Kanoíta, webmineral.com.
 Manual de kanoíta, Mineral Data Publishing.

Piroxens
Minerals de magnesi
Minerals de manganès
Minerals descoberts a Hokkaido

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
"Vůbec ho nechápu."
Translation:I do not understand him at all.
PritelBobka
I didn't try all of these, but per the suggested hints, could this also mean all of the following: - I don't exactly understand him . - I don't even understand him. - Actually, I don't understand him.
Iva818387
We're getting a bit into the realm of nuances and feelings with this question :). I think that the first suggested meaning by you: "I don't exactly understand him" is not a correct translation. It sounds to me more like that you either do not understand what he says exactly (like literally understand his words or language) or that you don't understand his behaviour that much... like "I don't exactly like this" doesn't mean that you totally hate it... it's just that you don't kinda like it... In the second translation you insert this "even" which is lacking from the Czech version... In the third one you use this "actually", which is also not in the Czech sentence. If I were to choose and extra word in English that would capture the essence of the Czech sentence, it would be "absolutely" ... "I absolutely don't understand him" which means, and that's important to note, that you do not understand his behavior/his decision/.... The Czech "nechápu" has nothing to do with "understanding" a language or spoken word, it means "understanding a person/an idea/math/..." So I guess, after all, it's up to you. All of the three sentences you mentioned mean roughly the same thing, adding or lacking a little bit from the official version, but definitely bearing 90% of the necessary meaning :).
Ral384612
If, "I do not understand him actually" is not a correct translation for "vůbec ho nechápu", then what would be its correct Czech translation?
nueby
A good Czech translation would be "Vlastně mu nerozumím." However, "vůbec" is not a good match. We are into the difference between "at all" and "in fact". (As in, I do not agree with you at all != I actually do not agree with you.)
MDCbrnoPlus
Why can't you say, "I cannot understand him at all"?
LukasBlech
"I do not get him completely" is not possible?
BoneheadBass
Short answer: I would not recommend accepting that one.
Longer answer: My native AmE ear would interpret, "I do not get him completely" as meaning that I do "get" him to some extent, but there are things about him/about what he's saying that I don't "get."
But the English translation of the exercise sentence ("I do not understand him at all") means that there is nothing that I understand about him/about what he's saying.
I can, however, imagine "I completely do not get him!" (with verbal emphasis on "completely") being used in casual conversation. Without that emphasis, even "I completely do not get him" sounds a little odd to me.
AgnusOinas
How about "I like totally don't like get him like at all"? :-DD
That's the kind of language I hear whenever a couple of American girls/women pass by me in the streets of Prague.
I like totally get what you're saying and like totally understand where you're coming from. Like what's all the fuss about? I mean it's like really totally nuts to be so like totally nit-picky when you're like having a totally normal conversation with someone who just like really totally doesn't get what you're saying. I mean really: it's like totally nuts! :-)
Yup :) Add to that a bored gimme-a-break intonation, vocal fry and a resting bitch face, and it's "perfect".
Learn Czech in just 5 minutes a day. For free.


text:
Dorylomorpha canadensis är en tvåvingeart som beskrevs av Hardy 1943. Dorylomorpha canadensis ingår i släktet Dorylomorpha och familjen ögonflugor.

Artens utbredningsområde är Saskatchewan. Arten är reproducerande i Sverige. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Ögonflugor
canadensis


text:
Category: Natural Disaster
The Most Frightening Threat Yet? An NPLI Team Explores What to Do
Not everyone is familiar with a potential electromagnetic pulse (EMP) event. Those who are can lose sleep over them. An EMP could result from significant solar activity or the intentional work of a malicious actor. No matter the cause, the effects would be extraordinary: the power grid would go down and anything with unshielded electronic components–from vehicles to ATMs to the cell phones–over a wide area would be permanently damaged.…
Continue reading "The Most Frightening Threat Yet? An NPLI Team Explores What to Do"
Categories:Alumni news, Meta-leadership, Natural Disaster, Preparedness and Response, Terrorism//Tags:California National Guard, CDC, EMP, US Coast Guard
Dr Gregory Ciottone Named WADEM President
Dr. Gregory Ciottone, who serves as the NPLI's director of medical preparedness, has been named incoming president of WADEM, the World Association of Disaster and Emergency Medicine at their recent conference in Brisbane, Australia. Ciottone also an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Harvard Medical School and is the Director of the Division of Disaster Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where he works clinically in the Department of…
Continue reading "Dr Gregory Ciottone Named WADEM President"
Categories:Faculty news, Natural Disaster, Preparedness and Response, Public Health//Tags:Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, disaster medicine, Greg Ciottone, WADEM
Leadership Key to Florence Response
NPLI alumni are once again at the front lines of responses to massive storms. Hurricane Florence, described as "the storm of the century" is dumping millions of gallons of rain on the eastern seaboard and driving significant storm surges. Coastal and inland flooding is widespread. Through the media, NPLI Distinguished Senior Fellow and former FEMA Deputy Administrator Rich Serino has been noting the importance of leadership to the success of…
Continue reading "Leadership Key to Florence Response"
Categories:Faculty news, Meta-leadership, Natural Disaster//Tags:BBC, crisis leadership, disaster preparedness, disaster response, Hurricane Florence, natural disaster, Rich Serino
Inter-Agency Connectivity Central to Meta-Leadership Team Projects
It's the areas without policies and practices where leadership strategies become crucial. This is why a key part of NPLI's Executive Education Program is the meta-leadership team project. Since our opening session in December 2017, these crisis leaders had spent the past six months back at their various agencies and roles incorporating meta-leadership into their work and team projects. Through a range of inter-agency collaboration and stakeholder analyses, Cohort XVI's projects…
Continue reading "Inter-Agency Connectivity Central to Meta-Leadership Team Projects"
Categories:Executive Education, Meta-leadership, Natural Disaster, Preparedness and Response, Terrorism//Tags:crisis leadership, crisis response, cybersecurity, disaster response, Domestic Preparedness, emergency response, executive education, leadership, meta-leadership, social media, TSA
The Challenges of Extreme Hurricanes
The extraordinary wallop from back-to-back hurricanes in 2017 tested the capacity and capability of the response system. There were many challenges as well as stories of resourcefulness, resilience, and courage from Texas to Puerto Rico. Recently, the Leadership Forum at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health convened an all-star panel to discuss what we've learned about extreme hurricanes that should be carried forward for future planning and training.…
Continue reading "The Challenges of Extreme Hurricanes"
Categories:Alumni news, Faculty news, Meta-leadership, Natural Disaster, Preparedness and Response, Public Health//Tags:American Red Cross, Brad Kaiserman, crisis leadership, disaster response, FEMA, Harvard TH Chan School, hurricane, Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Maria, Kellie Bentz, leadership, Leadership Forum, Richard Serino
Posted on February 2, 2018 April 6, 2018
Jono Anzalone Named 2017 Meta-Leader of the Year
It was a year to remember for preparedness and response leaders: hurricanes, fires, floods, shootings, and more challenged leaders and their organizations again and again. This made it a challenge to select a 2017 Meta-Leader of the Year as National Preparedness Leadership Initiative (NPLI) alumni were involved in many of these events. Each year, the Meta-Leader of the Year designation is conferred upon an outstanding leader whose breadth of thinking,…
Continue reading "Jono Anzalone Named 2017 Meta-Leader of the Year"
Categories:Alumni news, Meta-leadership, Natural Disaster, Preparedness and Response//Tags:2017, American Red Cross, Cargill Foundation, floods, hurricane, Jono Anzalone, leadership, Meta-Leader of the Year, meta-leadership
What We Can Learn From Wildfire Fighters
NPLI Director of Research Eric McNulty wrote a piece for strategy+business in May 2016 on leadership lessons for any organization that could be derived from the practices of wildfire fighters. It was timely then because of the Fort McMurray fires in Canada. It is relevant again today as we watch brave men and women put themselves in harm's way in California. We cannot imagine a more daunting situation in which to find oneself…
Continue reading "What We Can Learn From Wildfire Fighters"
Categories:Meta-leadership, Natural Disaster//Tags:Boston University, fire fighters, leadership, meta-leadership, Michelle Barton, strategy+business, wildfire
Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria: Pivoting from Response to Recovery
The one, two, three punch of hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria have required enormous response efforts.Government agencies, non-profits, businesses, and the public have all demonstrated generosity of spirit and action. The fury of nature has been met with courage, persistence, and resilience. Having seen and been with NPLI alumni through multiple natural disasters, we've learned that now comes one of the most important pivots: from the immediacy of response to…
Continue reading "Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria: Pivoting from Response to Recovery"
Categories:Meta-leadership, Natural Disaster//Tags:American Red Cross, FEMA, Florida, Habitat for Humanity, Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico, Salvation Army, Texas
Drones in Disaster Relief
Robotics are increasingly part of the disaster response arsenal. The many uses are just now being discovered and both professionals and amateurs in the field are going to have to get used to working alongside mechanical colleagues. Among the uses are finding survivors in areas where humans may have difficult access, delivery of medical and other supplies, and improving overall situational awareness. The Field Innovation Team led by Desi Matel-Anderson…
Continue reading "Drones in Disaster Relief"
Categories:Meta-leadership, Natural Disaster, Preparedness and Response//Tags:disaster, disaster response, do tank, Drone, innovation


MUMBAI: Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) on Monday upheld an order by market regulator Sebi against Jaipur-based real estate major PACL Ltd and directed it to refund Rs 49,100 crore that the company had collected through what the tribunal termed as 'sham collective investment scheme (CIS)'. This was the largest CIS in the country so far — in terms of money collected as well as the number of investors involved — against which Sebi had passed an order.
Exactly a year ago, Sebi had ordered PACL to wind up its illegal CIS and refund all the money it had collected from investors within three months. Subsequently PACL had challenged Sebi's order in SAT.
According to the Sebi order, PACL was running a land purchase scheme, collecting money from investors by promising that the investments in the company's schemes were highly profitable. Sebi had found out that through its unauthorized CIS that was running for 15 years, PACL had collected Rs 49,100 crore from 5.85 crore investors. Of these many customers, PACL had issued sale deeds to only 19,284 investors.
The SAT order also noted that although PACL had collected Rs 49,100 crore, the total value of the lands that PACL held in the form of stock in trade was Rs 11,707 crore. The order pointed out that amount of land held by PACL was wholly disproportionate to the amount of money collected from investors. It also noted that there was nothing on record for the company to suggest that PACL had any other assets.
"In such a case, permitting PACL to operate CIS by seeking registration under CIS Regulations would have been travesty of justice. Accordingly, no fault can be found with the decision of Sebi in directing PACL to wind up all existing schemes and refund the monies collected from the investors with the return which are due to its investors," SAT noted.


text:
Q: retrieve top 100 and then search in all records I have window -with dw object- when i open this window i retrieve all records in the datawindow (dw_1.retrieve())
When user wants to search for a specific record i put criteria he enters in valid expression (ls_filter)
then
dw_1.setfilter(ls_filter)
dw_1.filter()

My app works fine when server is on local network.
Now it is required to put server on the net(cloud) so in open event i can not retrieve all rows as it take about five minutes to retrieve all rows(very very long period).
So in sql synatx of dw_1 I added top 100 (after select) that make dw to retrieve only last 100 rows
My question is: if user want to search for specific record, is this mean i must retrieve all rows to search and thus take long time again to load all rows ?
Is this right? Or is there another solution? How?

A: Don't use filters. Instead you need to add retrieval argument in sql query using where clause. Now whenever you need to search the particular record, just use
Add retrieval argument from menu design -> retrieval arguments
Lets say you added retrieval argument filter varchar (100)
Your query should be :
Select top 100 * from tablename where (:filter is null and 1=1)

Or
(columnxyz like :filter)

On open() of window pass null string while retrieving.
String is_filter;  // instance variable
Setnull(is_filter);
Dw_1.retrieve (is_filter)

On retrieving filtered content only :
is_filter=sle_control.text;
Dw_1.retrieve (is_filter)

You can also visit this blog :
http://bishtpowerbuilder.blogspot.in/2016/10/4-datawindows-strength-of-powerbuilder_25.html?m=1

A: The correct thing is to apply a where in the dw and not use the filter. Less records less time.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Tag archive for 'New Hampshire'
By Brandon Jones On Sunday, January 5th, 2020
Joe Biden to coal miners: Learn to code, will sacrifice hundreds of thousands of jobs
Former Vice Preisdent Joe Biden and Democratic frontrunner for the 2020 presidential nominee sent a shocking message to coal miners should "learn to program" as the threat of climate change is so great. This More...
By The Dispatch On Tuesday, December 31st, 2019
Mythbusters spin-off 'The Explosion Show' premieres tomorrow to kickoff the New Year
Subscribing to that old axiom that everything is better with explosions, whether it's million-dollar movie stunts or state-of-the-art fireworks, a new Science Channel series will be ringing in the New Year More...
By Brandon Jones On Wednesday, September 18th, 2019
Beto O'Rourke profiting off gun confiscation, attacks on credit card companies, selling a 'gun ban' shirt
Former Rep. Robert "Beto" O'Rourke (D-TX) revealed last week the nationwide gun confiscation program that he would implement if elected president would not include law enforcement going to the More...
By Brandon Jones On Saturday, August 24th, 2019
Biden gaffes continue on 2020 campaign: wrong state, health care that's 'not quality' and crowds not showing up
Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden continued to make embarrassing misstatements while on the campaign trail on Saturday, speaking in Keene, New Hampshire, said: "I've been here a number of times More...
Election 2020: Joe Biden asks audience to imagine if Barack Obama had been murdered
2020 Democrat front runner Joe Biden held a town hall event in Hanover, New Hampshire on Friday to discuss his healthcare plan, but is making headlines for asked the audience to imagine Barack Obama's assassination More...
Election 2020: Andrew Yang vows to 'pardon everyone' for nonviolent pot crimes
2020 Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang gave a speech in Concord, New Hampshire, vowing to "pardon everyone who is in jail for nonviolent marijuana-related offenses." "I'm going to More...
By The Dispatch On Saturday, August 17th, 2019
Nashua Man, Donald Johnson Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking Conspiracy
Donald Johnson, 34, of Nashua, pleaded guilty in federal court to participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy on August 14, 2019, United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced. According to court documents More...
By The Dispatch On Saturday, July 20th, 2019
Lempster Man, Jesse Lohman Sentenced to 150 Months For Meth Trafficking
Jesse R. Lohman, 37, of Lempster, was sentenced on Monday to 150 months in federal prison for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today. According More...
By The Dispatch On Tuesday, July 2nd, 2019
Manchester Man, Daniel Irving Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking Conspiracy Charge
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Robin Good Interviews Michel Bauwens on the P2P Society
(Redirected from Robin Good interviews Michel Bauwens on the P2P Society)
An interview of Michel Bauwens by Robin Good of Masternewmedia.org
1 Text
1.1 Why P2P Is Better Than Capitalism
1.2 The Economic Viability of Peer Production
1.3 The Potential For P2P To Unite The World
1.4 How Peer Governance And Democracy Differ
1.5 Why People Are Afraid Of P2P
1.6 How P2P Can Change Our Monetary System
1.7 Peer To Peer And Alternative Currencies
1.8 The Relationship Between The People and The Technology
Why P2P Is Better Than Capitalism
I think if you want to know what is wrong with capitalism and how peer-to-peer is an improvement over it, you have to look at the history of motivation and cooperation. Pre-modern societies were based on coercion / force - a slave had to give everything and serf had to give half or more of what was produced.
The dream of capitalism said that instead of forcing you, why don't we create mutual self interest, so we will just exchange things of equal value with each other. In a way that is great progress because we go from external negative motivation (fear) to external positive motivation (money). The problem with that is that if you don't have money - if you don't have positive motivation on the outside, you don't do it. Also the problem is if you have a system based on self interest then no one looks at the other consequences. No one looks at pollution. And no one wants to do anything that is not paid.
Furthermore if you look at the way innovation works in a company you want to innovate and improve because you don't want to be buried under competition. If you don't have competition because it's a monopoly for example, then you don't improve. Look at Microsoft's Internet Explorer...nothing really moved for 5-7 years because Netscape was dead.
Now think about a peer production like Mozilla Firefox. These people want to innovate not to be better than the other guy, but because they just want to make the best possible browser. Firefox doesn't have to protect its property rights; anyone can make a plug-in. So Firefox is innovating all the time. It is moving all the time.
The genius of peer-to-peer is that it filters out negative outside motivation / positive outside motivation and focuses on internal motivation - voluntary passionate production. Your individual interest in improvement corresponds with the values of everyone within that organization. And the whole project is available to all of humanity via the network.
When a for-profit institution competes with a for-benefit institution, the for-benefit institution like the Mozilla Foundation can draw on a community so the for-profit companies lose a competitive advantage. I think in those ways peer production is an improvement over for-profit production models.
Similarly, if you have two for-profit companies competing, it is the one that opens up and invites user participation that will do better than the one that doesn't. That means that for-profit companies are adopting peer-to-peer practices. If you take any two communities where one is locked and isolate while the other says we can collaborate with companies and cooperate with others (individuals, corporations) the second will have an advantage. What that points to is that peer production and for-profit are not antagonistic, they are complimentary in many ways.
But I would still argue that peer production is post capitalist because it is not about commodities, wage relationships, or about producing for the marketplace with commodities and exchange value. So in many ways if you do that, part of you is already outside of the market. You are learning to do things differently and not just out of pure self interest.
The Economic Viability of Peer Production
Yes, I just think it's an interesting proposal to think about. And the way I explain it is the following.
Right now we're split. We have two sides of our lives:
· We have the side who has to survive... that has to make money and we engage in the formal economy, we get paid, we get a salary. But we also often very much work in an alienated way. We don't do what we like, we have a boss we don't like. All kinds of elements which make this not the perfect solution for many people.
· And then we have a surplus. And that surplus of intellect, of computers, of access to the networks, makes that, when we do not have to work for a living, More and more of us are engaging in our passions. And we produce what I call peer production, governors, and property.
Now what we notice today, I think increasingly, is that actually the part of us, our surplus, is more productive than when we are in the system.
Now, that should tell the system something. So the system can start thinking. Well actually when people... let's assume they're unemployed... so between jobs you fall in a kind of intermediate period when you're jobless what before you used to think you're worthless, you have no value.
Today I will argue maybe is exactly in those moments you actually produce the most value for society.
So the first thing to do is create a system that at least allows people to move more easily from the market to the non-market. It's kind of life-long career planning which allows people to say I want to engage with my passion and I can do that for a certain time and then I go back to the market.
And I think as we mature in this... as we strengthen peer-to-peer, we discover that actually more and more value is created in the informal economy.
At that moment I think we can start arguing for basic income because then it is no longer welfare. I am not just giving you money to help you. I'm actually recognizing a society that by the mere fact that you're a citizen engaging in networks and producing value in common, you're actually giving society crucial value and therefore I give you back what you give.
I don't think we're there yet. I think that maturation of peer production might actually lead to the situation where I don't know, ten, twenty, thirty years from now, this becomes a really debatable issue.
The Potential For P2P To Unite The World
It does happen very rarely. Because most people today have an inner sense that openness is better than enclosure. You know when they hear about free software and open-source development actually most people recognize that it's a good way of doing things. That if you want to cooperate you have to be open with each other.
So I think that actually peer-to-peer has a potential to unite many people that are politically opposed to each other because it has different values embedded. It has a freedom which liberals like and libertarians like. It has the equality aspect that people on the left like. It has a relation aspect that conservative people like, you know, being embedded in a community.
So what we have to do is look at the common interest of a group of people in advancing concretely the space for this to emerge. And not to overly politicize it and to a create kind of almost artificial oppositions.
How Peer Governance And Democracy Differ
I think there is a difference between peer governance and democracy, direct or indirect. I'll try to explain it in the following way:
Think about the market. Think about hierarchy and think about democracy. Those are simply three different ways to allocate resources.
· The market says it's all about the price. The effort will go to the most valuable thing to do.
· Hierarchy says we're clever, because we know everything so we will organize production for you.
· And democracy says we have different groups with different interests so we'll negotiate about who gets what.
Peer governance functions in the immaterial environment of intellectual cooperation over the networks. And you are basically self-aggregating your resources. So as long as you're self-aggregating your resources, you don't need any other way to aggregate your resources. You don't need a market, you don't need a hierarchy and you don't need democracy. And type of relations you have is I voluntary contributed to other projects, so do you. And you don't pay me so why should I listen to you. So you need consensus. You need expertise. You need engagement and somehow and we see that it works that people can actually have very complex projects that are organized through peer governance. This is one side of the equation.
The other side of the equation is that in order to cooperate you have a number of fixed cost you need infrastructure of cooperation. You need servers. These servers are a renewable resource so you need a cost-recovery mechanism. So there you are in different domain. You actually need to allocate and protect resources. So what happens in peer production is in that environment people create nonprofits ... the Mozilla Foundation, the Apache Foundation, Wikimedia Foundation. And they will manage the infrastructure of cooperation on behalf of the community. But because they have scarce resources, you need the democratic structure.
And so I would say overall a society is dealing not just with immaterial resources, but mostly with scarce material resources... with hunger, food, physical things. We still need democracy.
But to the degree that you did with intellectual cooperation, culture and knowledge, and open design, you are in peer governance. So what I think is happening is that... let's say that this is the volume of democracy we have in society. This is the volume of peer governance. It is that the space of peer governance will grow but we'll not totally replace the sphere of democracy. I think it's impossible as long as we live in a material world. Peer To Peer: Michel Bauwens' Vision For the World
My dream is a world where more and more people can follow their passion... find meaning in their life... express themselves. And that more and more value is created that way.
In the current world we think that nature is infinite, and we think that we have to make things (intellectual, spiritual, cultural things) scarce artificially. My dream is that we turn that around. That we recognize that sharing is infinite and that nature is not infinite. And therefore change the way our civilization, our society runs. Based on that recognition.
I think once you start working peer-to-peer in your field, that you're following your life's dreams that you're passionate about, then you don't want to go back.
I think more and more people should have a chance than just a minority of people.
Why People Are Afraid Of P2P
I think it is the issue of expertise. The fear of dumbing down. The fear that if you broaden participation the people who know more will be lost in the masses. And I think the more hierarchical a society is, the more power experts have, and the more fear they have of losing it.
I think in some countries for example like in France they get more easily angry than in others. So, there's this fear that if you open up that the people who know less will take power. And the quality of society will go down. And it's a fear that I recognize.
I think peer-to-peer runs a danger in some circumstances of having that effect. I don't think it's inherent to peer-to-peer. I think it's bad design, bad governance. that leads to those kind of processes. And now we have value-conscious design, a value-sensitive design that designs for diversity, for autonomy, for selection of excellence. And are the best processes to do that better than even other forms of social organization.
I think this fear is the same fear of democracy. When people started arguing that everybody had the right to vote. There was a very similar fear that democracy would bring the rule of the mob. Now we have had two-hundred years of democracy and democracy is far from perfect. But who wants to go back to an authoritarian state? Not many people want to go back.
It is the same thing with peer-to-peer. Once it's there... once you're used to it, when you have problems, you try to solve it in a peer-to-peer way. We don't want to go back to the old systems.
How P2P Can Change Our Monetary System
I define peer-to-peer as a direct social production value by civil society.
And when you look at money, money is created by banks through their loans and it's regulated by the central banks. One of the things that we also discovered in peer-to-peer is the importance of invisible architectures. The kind of protocol, the design rules that favours some kind of behavior and make other kinds of behavior difficult.
So I think that what this shows us is that these protocols of money today, interest-based money, is a protocol which drives infinite growth. Infinite growth in a finite system. So I think that this is not a good thing this kinda monetary system which is based on fighting for scarce resources. And so the scarcity for the people who need it. And then you have ninety-eight percent of the money which is floating around speculatively and creating one bubble after another. I don't think this is a very good system.
Now how would a system like this change? Well of course the people who would profit from it are not gonna change it. So what if we create an open money system that we can manage ourselves. That we can choose a protocol from. And that virtual and physical communities can start using from the bottom up. I would say that's one of the particular changes that could happen through peer-to-peer.
The other one is the following: to have peer-to-peer, you have access to your own resources. So today we have our brains, we have a community of surplus. We have computers. We have access to the networks. And that allows us to do immaterial cooperation. So we can do everything that's not physical stuff. We can do it already through peer-to-peer.
Now, when machines start becoming miniaturized, we will have desktop manufacturing, personal fabricators, flexible manufacturing, multi-purpose machinery. All these trends point to capital becoming cheaper and more distributed.
When financing becomes more distributed, which is the point of social lending (like Prosper - the American system or Zopa - the English system). That means that people can get money from each other.
Then we have: computers are distributed, machines are getting distributed, and money is getting more distributed. What it does is it augments the peer-to-peer in society. So that peer-to-peer production can move from pure knowledge production to open design for machinery, to actually making things in a more peer-to-peer way. And finding the capital to do it as well.
All these are not changes that are happening over night. But I think the direction of change is in that direction. So in the next ten, twenty, thirty years, we'll see more of these different steps taken up by different people and creating the basis for another type of society which I call the peer-to-peer society.
Peer To Peer And Alternative Currencies
Open money for me is a particular type of alternative currency which has the capacity to follow different rules.
The important thing is not to have an alternative currency which does the same thing as the old. The important thing is to have new rules for that currency. As long as they are local currencies, they can't scale. So what I am thinking of are open money systems which are virtual (through the internet) and can therefore scale globally and be an interchange between different communities. Peer To Peer: How P2P Can Continue to Grow
I think that the most important thing for peer-to-peer to grow is through example. And that is really what the Peer-to-Peer Foundation wants to do. We want to be an inter-networking platform, where people in the open and free, participatory, and community oriented movements (in whatever field they are) can publicize their efforts, can see who else is doing something similar and can share experiences.
And when people see that peer-to-peer ways of doing things are more efficient... are more pleasant... are more democratic, they will find more and more in common with it. So I think that we are at the very beginning of that revolution where people are beginning to see that.
The Relationship Between The People and The Technology
The engineers who created the internet did it for scientific research and for peer review and exchanging information amongst peers. And gradually as the internet became more and more popular then there were more and more centralized elements within it. Now this is true, and the Web, for example, is a client-server system. But I think the important thing is not to get blinded by technology.
It's really about the people. Can you as individuals produce information, share it, distribute it? And can I as a user find it, take it, and use it? As long as those things are guaranteed we have peer-to-peer human relationships.
And of course we have to be careful about the technology. We have to look at it, we have to see who is in charge... who owns it, what the rules are, and we have to be careful about it. But we shouldn't be blinded by the technology.
It's really about enabling and empowering human participation. That's the key. And sometimes what peer-to-peer does is in a pure way it might make systems less efficient. Take Napster, Napster was more efficient because it had a centralized database. But that made it vulnerable. So politically the file-sharing community was obliged to go more purely peer-to-peer not because it was technically superior but because they wanted a system that couldn't be broken. That is a political decision.
You have to make a balance between going in a more pure peer-to-peer way and maybe having more redundancy, or going toward more efficiency with more centralized elements. But then they are more vulnerable to ownership and control. So this is a technical decision not a philosophical decision. You have to see what is happening concretely in order to make those decisions.
In general we have to have a preference for distributed systems because that is what allows people to be in charge of their own productive resources.
Retrieved from "https://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/index.php?title=Robin_Good_Interviews_Michel_Bauwens_on_the_P2P_Society&oldid=117304"
P2P Theory


This page is a under construction so below is only a few pieces of equipment that I have built over the last few years. I will be adding a new piece each day so please check back in a few days for more pics and videos.
Support of product testing utilizing Thermal, Temp-Shock, Salt-Fog, Dust, Vibration and HALT.
This Rain Chamber was developed to perform an internal test that was a modified specification of IPX-2.
The flow rates can be modified two ways. By raising the float valve in the reservoir and changing the needle size utilizing the luer lock connections and standard needles.
Keypad and LCD test tap test stations.
With the increased use of keys on cell phones, the focus on the robustness of the key surface and tactile feel increased as well. A keypad test was developed that duplicated the force on the keys and performed the life cycle tests. The test was so useful it was quickly adopted and grew to 45 test stations that were constantly running.
With the introduction of a stylus, the stations were even adapted to test the LCD as well.
With that came the noise and lost lab space. To limit that the stations were built into office cabinets and switched to Modicon Plc's for a more uniform and stable systems.
Additional equipment with more details to soon follow.
Omni-Axis Vibration table for Chamber use.
This was developed as a new test and became a product for an outside vendor.
The unit pictured here is connected to a deep vacuum chamber to test the efficacy of the flash vaporization of H2O2 sterilization process. This particular unit was a final prototype that would control the chamber valves, heaters and vacuum system and delivered vaporized H2O2 through our patented metering system capable of +/- .5G of target sterilant in 10 seconds.
After building and qualifying the system, I transitioned the project to manufacturing by training the assembly technicians.
Several onsite installations were supported at UpJohn Kalamazoo Michigan, Ethicon San Angelo Texas, Eli Lilly Indianapolis Indiana and Taiyo Pharmaceutical in Takayama Japan.
VHP1000 (Room temperature and Atmospheric pressures) for rooms and isolators.
The unit pictured here is connected to a small plastic isolator that can not be sterilized in either deep vacuum or high temps. The VHP Phase is very different in that it dehumidifies the isolator at near atmospheric temperatures and pressures through a series of valves and internal desiccant tank. They unit then re-humidifies the isolator replacing the water vapor with H2O2 vapor for a period of time. After said time the unit is again dehumidified to remove the H2O2 which is destroyed when run though an internal platinum palladium tank that breaks it into oxygen and water.
My involvement in this system was to integrate it into various unique customer systems. This integration would include items ranging from software changes to additional hardware that would allow the unit to work when physics wouldbe stopping it.
I also supported the furthering of technology by creating breadboard prototypes of the next generation that would allow it to be used on much larger rooms and in a constant mode.
After assisting a friend in the pits at Mid Ohio Sports Complex, I felt it would be fun to build and race my own Improved Touring Division car. I purchased a non running 88 Pontiac Fiero which I was always fond of and rebuilt and prepared the engine for racing. The car was then stripped down and converted to a racecar which had to pass a rigorous inspection for compliance to all SCCA racing rules before being registered for competition. The car and I completed competition driving schools at Nelson Ledges Ohio and Watkins Glen Ney York before obtaining a competition license.
Since then we participated in several races and high speed driving schools at Virginia International Raceway and Roebling Road raceway in Georgia before quickly running out of talent and money.


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Boston Children's Main Site »
PK Lab
The PKlab at Boston Children's Hospital (BCH) was formally created to provide clinicians and researchers with a core competence in Quantitative Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacometrics (QCPP).
- "Pharmacometrics is the science which deals with quantitative description of disease, drug effects and variability (ref. American College of Clinical Pharmacology)".
- "Pharmacometrics is defined as the science that quantifies drug, disease and trial information to aid efficient drug development and/or regulatory decisions (ref. Division of Pharmacometrics, Office of Clinical Pharmacology, FDA)". It merges the fields of:
Pharmacokinetics (PK) and Pharmacodynamics (PD)
Disease biology
Computer sciences and Simulation
Integrated in the Pharmacometrics Core at the BCH / Harvard Medical School, the PKlab complements other core facilities within the Longwood Medical Area. Being jointly sponsored by the department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative and Pain Medicine, and by the Pharmacy Department. It engages in internal projects, such as stability studies of compounded pediatric formulations, as well as inter-departmental collaborations, both intra and extramural, such as quantifying drugs and/or metabolites in biological matrices.
The PKlab also operates as a Contract Research Organization (CRO) addressing specific clients' needs as much as possible within its mission. Notable examples include animal studies for which brain tissue drug contents were determined and modelled in the context of developing new chemical entities (NCEs).
Building on our extraordinary leadership in pediatric science at Boston Children's, we translate our findings — and those of others — to fundamentally change how disease is treated and cured.
David A. Williams, MD
Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer
Find a:
Center or Lab


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HomeOpinionsOPINION: The Devil Went Down to Utah
OPINION: The Devil Went Down to Utah
March 14, 2021 Seamus Allen Opinions, This Week 0
Sen. Mike Lee speaks at a conference in 2015. Photo credit Gage Skidmore under CC BY-SA 2.0
So… we need to talk. Just this Wednesday, Senator Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah, called the national voting rights legislation H.R.1 a bill "written in hell by the devil himself."
Which, you know, seems pretty extreme. There must be something really crazy in this bill, something so problematic and disagreeable that it would warrant such incensed rhetoric.
The trouble is, the bill, which is likely to come before the Senate this year, actually seems quite reasonable, putting into place policies most Americans would likely agree on.
First, H.R.1. would make it easier to register to vote and stay registered. Agencies like the DMV would save you the hassle and automatically register you to vote when you get your driver's license (unless you ask them not to), you'd be able to register to vote on election day if you needed to and states would have to make sure you're actually gone before they remove you from the voter rolls.
Second, the bill would make sure you can vote before election day if you need to and force states to address long wait times.
Third, the bill would heighten election security by creating systems for identifying, reporting and fixing vulnerabilities, as well as standards for election vendors.
Fourth, the bill requires candidates to disclose all their campaign contributions and creates public financing for elections where the government would match small donations to candidates, thereby reducing the role of wealthy donors, lobbyists and Wall Street in politics.
And finally, the bill would ban district maps that favor one party over the other. Under the current system, state legislatures control their own redistricting, which means that representatives can choose which voters will elect them (instead of the other way around) and divide them up in ways that favor their own party over others. This process, called gerrymandering, also has the side effect of making elections less competitive, so if you're frustrated that the same people keep getting elected, this is a big part of why.
So, to sum it up; the bill makes it easier to vote, easier to register, increases election security, reduces the influence of big money in politics and prevents politicians from gaining an unfair advantage through gerrymandering.
For a bill written by the devil himself, I certainly would have expected something more dastardly and evil. Mandatory abortions maybe? Banning Christianity? I mean, the devil must be getting soft… really soft. Or maybe he's just a big fan of voting rights. I don't really know the guy all that well — as a Democrat and a journalist, I've only met him a few times at our induction ceremonies.
So I am still left with the question: why did Senator Lee say what he said? Hyperbole or not, he certainly seems worked up about it. As it turns out, there is a very, very good reason: the Republican Party hasn't been fighting fair.
In a vile, decades-long legacy, the Republican Party has consistently tried to stop people (especially minorities) from voting. Why? Because the Republican voting base is smaller (they've lost 7 out of the last 8 presidential elections by measure of the popular vote), but they turn out more consistently. This means that when fewer people vote, Republicans tend to do better. Back in March last year, former President Trump gave the game away: speaking on a previous voting reform effort, he said, "The things they had in there were crazy. They had levels of voting, that if you ever agreed to it, you'd never have a Republican elected in this country again." This is, of course, an exaggeration, but it isn't exactly a good look for a politician to want fewer people voting.
That's not the only way they haven't been playing fair though: state Republicans, who controlled the majority of state legislatures in the 2011 redistricting, and will again for the 2021 redistricting, have used that power to create for themselves a sizable gerrymandered advantage. Some Democrat-controlled legislatures do the same thing, but considering they are fewer in number and more likely to have anti-gerrymandering laws already, Republicans come out on top. Election statistician Nate Silver's "The Gerrymandering Project" estimates that the current set of gerrymandered districts gives Republicans a roughly 7% advantage nationwide in elections.
And suddenly, the game is up. It's easy to understand why this is a bill "written in hell by the devil himself," why it is "rotten to the core," why he hates "every single word in H.R. 1, including the words 'and,' 'but,' and 'the.'"
Because if there is one thing cheaters hate more than anything else, it's being forced to play fair.
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