text:
Support for the Practice Team
We just want to let you know that we at Wessex LMCs are thinking of you and want to help you however we can. There are plenty of resources out there and you have probably got information overload, but this might be helpful....
Self-Care & Stress Management
Ongoing news reports can contribute to increased anxiety and stress. Set a limit on how much time you spend checking the news. The World Health Organization's director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus encouraged people to check the news from reliable sources only once or twice a day.
Other ways you can manage your stress during this time include:
Adequate sleep – ensure you're getting 6-8 hours of sleep a night
Up your vitamin C intake – citrus fruits are the best way to boost your immune system
Meditation – even three minutes of meditation a day can have positive effects on your health
Light exercise – take a walk around the neighbourhood; fresh air and sunlight are great for your immune system and can increase your mood and decrease your anxiety levels
Alternative methods to Socialise – check in with friends via FaceTime or give them a call
At-home hobbies to give your mind some respite from work –puzzles or just catching up on TV shows
When it's all feeling a bit too overwhelming, it may be helpful to focus on what you are grateful for. Some people find it really therapeutic to make a daily "gratitude list" in order to build psychological resiliency.
Try guided Apps and websites to help
A-Z of Mental Health Apps
Headspace: App based around teaching mindfulness meditation principles to improve wellbeing.
Mood: Web-based mood tracking and management platform
Wellbeing Podcasts: A series of free audio podcasts to improve wellbeing, including guided relaxation, mindfulness and overcoming fear and anxiety.
Sleepio: App for sleep management, combining cognitive behaviour principles and the latest in sleep research.
Unmind: Unmind is a mental health platform that empowers staff to proactively improve their mental wellbeing. Using scientifically-backed assessments, tools and training you can measure and manage your personal mental health needs, including digital programmes designed to help with stress, sleep, coping, connection, fulfillment and nutrition.
Daylight: A smartphone-based app that provides help to people experiencing symptoms of worry and anxiety, using evidence-based cognitive behavioural techniques, voice and animation.
Various NHS recommended Apps
(with many thanks to Julia O'Mara. Mental Health First Aider for the information above)
Podcasts from Wessex LMCs
We are continuing to develop relevant podcasts. Do subscribe via your podcast app on your phone to access our complete range of podcasts, and catch the new ones as we release them:
https://www.wessexlmcs.com/wessexlmcsvideopodcasts
Podcast - How to deal with our sadness, anger and grief through the crisis
"I don't know about you but I've noticed a background level of anxiety in myself that I haven't had before. I guess this is normal. We're living through unprecedented times." Any frontline workers will find this useful, as well as anyone who is finding themselves endlessly checking the news, social media....
NHS Talking Therapies
Talking therapies, or psychological therapies, are effective and confidential treatments delivered by fully trained and accredited NHS practitioners. They can help with common mental health problems like stress, anxiety and depression.
You can access talking therapies for free on the NHS. A GP can refer you, or you can refer yourself directly to an NHS psychological therapies service (IAPT) without a referral from a GP. Find out more here: NHS talking therapies - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Mental Health & Wellbeing Hubs
The staff mental health and wellbeing hubs have been set up to provide health and social care colleagues rapid access to assessment and local evidence-based mental health services and support where needed. The hub offer is confidential and free of charge for all health and social care staff. NHS England » Staff mental health and wellbeing hubs
South West Hub - BSW - BSW Wellbeing - Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust (awp.nhs.uk)
Dorset - The ICS staff wellbeing service – Here For Each Other (joinourdorset.nhs.uk)
South East Hub - Hants & IOW Home - HIOW Staff Support Hub
Frimley - https://wellbeingmatters.berkshirehealthcare.nhs.uk/
The SOM - Supporting Occupational Health and Wellbeing Professionals
The Society of Occupational Medicine is the UK organisation for all healthcare professionals working in or with an interest in occupational health.
In early 2021 the SOM worked with Public Health England on a series of COVID-19 Work, worklessness and wellbeing webinars (recordings and presentation slides are here). The factsheets have been developed to support employers, local authorities and regional governments, and health and social care workers to maintain and improve good health and work outcomes in their communities during the pandemic and its aftermath. Download the factsheets below:
Supporting businesses to build back better: The benefits of age diversity
Supporting your approach to workplace diversity and inclusion
Creating better quality work and workplaces
Managing stress, burnout and fatigue in health and social care
Supporting workplace mental health and wellbeing in COVID-19 and beyond
Developing a COVID-19 secure mental health and wellbeing strategy
Managing change – restructuring, redundancy, and homeworking
The NHS is launching a hotline to support and advise healthcare staff during the coronavirus pandemic. Volunteers from charities including Hospice UK, the Samaritans and Shout, will listen to concerns and offer psychological support. The phone line will be open between 07:00 and 23:00 every day, while the text service will be available around the clock. The phone number is 0300 131 7000 or staff can text FRONTLINE to 85258. It comes as staff face increasing pressure to care for rising numbers of patients who are seriously ill with the virus.
The government have produced an excellent guide for looking after your mental health here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-the-public-on-mental-health-and-wellbeing
There is more guidance and assistance on the NHS employers website for what is available for NHS staff to access: https://www.nhsemployers.org/news/2020/03/free-access-to-wellbeing-apps-for-all-nhs-staff
As individual physicians, we can practice strategies to increase and maintain our personal resilience. Feeling stress does not mean we are not coping well or not able to do our job. In fact, it is a normal human response, and may be useful in allowing us to function during this difficult time. The important thing is to manage it effectively so that stress does not become distress: Ensuring Our Own Wellbeing as We Care for Others During the COVID-19 Crisis
A short video on Coping with stress associated with COVID19
Free guide to help you to manage your worry and anxiety in these uncertain times: Living with worry and anxiety amidst global uncertainty
Helping you manage your own health and wellbeing whilst looking after others: https://people.nhs.uk/
www.project5.org is a national scheme of free coaching for NHS staff, set up to support through COVID19.
Staff support line: A confidential staff support line, operated by the Samaritans and free to access from 7:00am – 11:00pm, seven days a week. Call: 0800 069 6222 or Text: FRONTLINE to 85258 for support 24/7 via text
Bereavement support line - There is a confidential bereavement support line, operated by Hospice UK and free to access from 8:00am – 8:00pm, seven days a week. A team of fully qualified and trained bereavement specialists are available to support you with bereavement and wellbeing issues relating to loss experienced through your work. You will be offered up to 3 sessions with the same counsellor and onward support to our staff mental health services if you need. Call 0300 303 4434.
Bereavement and trauma support line for our Filipino colleagues
After engaging directly with colleagues from the Filipino community, a new NHS bereavement and trauma line, supported by a team of fully qualified and trained Tagalog speakers is now available. The confidential, free to access line is available seven days a week from 7.00 am – 11.00 pm. You do not need a referral. Call 0300 303 1115. Tagalog speaking specialist counsellors and support workers are available if colleagues:
have experienced a bereavement
wellbeing has been affected by witnessing traumatic deaths as part of your work
need to discuss any other anxiety or emotional issues you may be experiencing as a result of the coronavirus pandemic
Uplifting Resources: Chosen by NHS Staff for NHS Staff
Available now via the Knowledge and Library Services website is a selection of uplifting, digital resources which include apps, podcasts and other online resources. The Health Education England national NHS Knowledge and Library Services team has worked with the Reading Agency to crowd-source these resources. They have been chosen by NHS staff for NHS staff and are ideal for boosting your mood.
As part of Health Information Week (5 - 11 July '21), Health Education England will also be adding a small collection of print books to each local NHS Knowledge and Library Service in England. Find out more from your local service .
Psychological First Aid Training
From 21st February 2021, people who care for or work with children and young people aged up to 25 who have been affected by COVID-19 (or other emergencies or individual crises) will be able to access a new online Psychological First Aid (PFA) training course: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/psychological-first-aid-for-children-and-young-people
Looking After You Too
www.people.nhs.uk/lookingafteryoutoo
#LookingAfterYouToo is an individual coaching support offer for primary care staff. Recognising that frontline staff are facing many challenges, a support programme was launched on 24 April 2020.
Social Media graphics with quotes from Practice Managers that can be used to promote the offer:
PM Social Graphic 1
LookingAfterYou Twitter Graphic
It's an easy to access, individually tailored coaching support service for the frontline primary care workforce, proactively supporting people through COVID-19. It's a space for staff to offload the demands of whatever they are experiencing and be supported in developing practical strategies for dealing with this is available 7 days a week, 8:00am – 10:00pm Monday to Friday and 10:00am – 6:00pm Saturday and Sunday.
Coaching sessions will continue throughout the COVID-19 pandemic until at least March 2021.
Take a look at some of the positive feedback form those who have already participated:
"The best 45 minutes I have had invested in me in a long time. I felt listened too and confident to share my thoughts and concerns for the future. Thank you to all for the opportunity to do this"
"I felt the sessions helped with a break through with my issues. My concerns were well listened to and the advice and understanding given was excellent"
"I find these sessions allows you protected time to focus on an area that is concerning you in a protected supportive environment. My coach has allowed me to desensitize the situation and be proud of my behaviour throughout a difficult time"
Looking After Your Team
Following the success of the #LookingAfterYouToo coaching offer, NHSE have expanded the health and wellbeing offer to include coaching for leaders and managers in primary care settings.
The new #LookingAfterYourTeam service will create an opportunity for individuals who lead, manage or organise teams, groups, services or networks, to access coaching about their team. The coaching conversations will centre around compassionate and collaborative team leadership to support psychological wellbeing and resilience.
The free and confidential #LookingAfterYourTeam service is now open for bookings for 2021, with further information in the attached poster.
Please also see an email banner and social media graphic which can be shared with your networks and on your channels.
Looking After Your Career - Coaching Opportunity
NHS England and Improvement has launched Looking After Your Career which is a new coaching service for anyone working in primary care.
Coaches are on hand to support people take practical steps over career direction and to proactively advance it. Conversations may include:
• exploring future career pathways
• preparing for interviews and opportunities
• developing more meaning or purpose in current roles.
This offer is part of the 'Looking After You' coaching series, which includes individual wellbeing support and a service for those who lead and manage teams.
To find out more take a look at this information poster or visit the Looking After Your Career website .
Support for GPs
Wessex LMCs have some particular support for GPs via our GP Support and Development Scheme here https://www.wessexlmcs.com/gpsd
The NHS England commissioned service Practitioner Health details which are available for GPs are here:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/gp/the-best-place-to-work/retaining-the-current-medical-workforce/health-service/
Accessed via here: https://www.practitionerhealth.nhs.uk/covid-19-workforce-wellbeing
The Royal College of GPs (RCGP) have developed the following information to provide GPs support around suicide prevention:
Mental Health Toolkit for GPs. https://www.rcgp.org.uk/clinical-and-research/resources/toolkits/mental-health-toolkit.aspx
'Working Together to prevent Suicide' https://www.rcgp.org.uk/clinical-and-research/about/clinical-news/2019/september/working-together-to-prevent-suicide.aspx
Support for Practice Nurses
COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and your mental wellbeing: https://www.rcn.org.uk/get-help/member-support-services/counselling-service/covid-19-and-your-mental-wellbeing
Support for Practice Managers
Training for line managers to support you in having safe and effective wellbeing conversations.
Conflict resolution training to support you in managing challenging behaviour (www.e-lfh.org.uk)
The NHS England commissioned service 'Practitioner Health' details what is available for PRACTICE MANAGERS as well as GPs: https://www.practitionerhealth.nhs.uk/
Wessex LMCs are running regular webinars (details here). Our Directors of Primary Care will be giving an update to our PMs and will be answering questions. It will be a chance for PMs to share good practice and vent frustration! For those unable to join us live, we will have an audio podcast available for anyone to listen to after the event (accessed here)
Our Practice Manager Supporters, who are working as PMs right now, are brilliantly placed to sympathetically understand exactly what you are going through and what pressure you are under. Do contact them via our webpage https://www.wessexlmcs.com/practicemanagersupporters
Don't forget that Looking After You Too is for PMs too!
Space to Thrive
Would you like:
head space?
space in your day to think?
a safe space to share and discuss?
space to develop, thrive and flourish?
Then join a space to thrive! Find out more in this short video.
Locum Support for the Practice Team
Click here to find a list of GPs, PMs, Nurses and Practice Staff who are advertising their capacity to work as locums. (please note you musy be logged into the website with your email and password to view). It's recommend that practices and individuals using our jobs pages undertake their own due diligence, before entering into an agreement.
And finally…..
The Wessex LMCs team is here to support you - do not hesitate to contact one of our Directors via office@wessexlmcs.org.uk if we can help in any way.
Do take care and look after yourselves.
Updated on Tuesday, 18 January 2022 4865 views


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Thank you to Pet Stop Watford for offering such a wonderful service!
My dog always seems so content after a visit. Thank you Pet Stop Watford!
You offer an excellent service and I'm delighted with your level of knowledge.
At Pet Stop Watford we offer a range of services including dog walking, dog grooming, small animal boarding and pet sitting services. Pet Stop Watford is an independent pet shop in Watford offering a personal, friendly and all round helpful service for all your pet's needs. We are here to assist and can order anything you may need should we not have it in stock. We also offer a convenient home delivery service if you're short of time or just need a hand getting your stuff home.


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Q: Trying to resize sknode produces error "Cannot assign to the result of this expression"? I have created a subclass of SKNode called level and I'm trying to change it's size, however I get the error "Cannot assign to the result of this expression".
What am I doing wrong?
class Level: SKNode {

    override init() {
        super.init()
        self.frame.size= CGSizeMake(width: 100, height: 100) // Cannot assign to the result of this expression

A: The frame property is readonly, as you can see in SKNode.h
@property (SK_NONATOMIC_IOSONLY, readonly) CGRect frame;

I suggest you to read a bit more of the SKNode documentation: https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/SpriteKit/Reference/SKNode_Ref/Reference/Reference.html
In the document you will find this paragraph:
The frame property provides the bounding rectangle for a node's visual content, modified
by the scale and rotation properties. The frame is non-empty if the node's class draws
content. Each node subclass determines the size of this content differently. In some
subclasses, the size of the node's content is declared explicitly, such as in the
SKSpriteNode class. In other subclasses, the content size is calculated implicitly by the
class using other object properties. For example, a SKLabelNode object determines its
content size using the label's message text and font characteristics.

So frame is computed by SKNode subclasses based on different properties

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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text:
Guanidinylated block copolymers for gene transfer: A comparison with amine-based materials for invitro and invivo gene transfer efficiency
Jennifer L. Choi, James Kevin Y Tan, Drew L. Sellers, Hua Wei, Philip J. Horner, Suzie H. Pun
Center for Neuroregeneration
There is currently no cure for neuron loss in the brain, which can occur due to traumatic injury or neurodegenerative disease. One proposed method to enhance brain neurogenesis is gene transfer to neural progenitor cells. In this work, a guanidine-based copolymer was synthesized and compared to an amine-based copolymer analog previously shown to effectively deliver genes in the murine brain. The guanidine-based copolymer was more efficient at gene transfer to immortalized, cultured cell lines; however, the amine-based copolymer was more effective at gene transfer in the brain. DNA condensation studies revealed that the nucleic acid complexes formed with the guanidine-based copolymer were more susceptible to unpackaging in the presence of anionic proteoglycans compared to complexes formed with the amine-based copolymer. Therefore, polyplexes formed from the amine-based copolymer may be more resistant to destabilization by the heparan sulfate proteoglycans present in the stem cell niches of the brain.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2015.03.008
Guanidine
Ceramics and Composites
10.1016/j.biomaterials.2015.03.008
Dive into the research topics of 'Guanidinylated block copolymers for gene transfer: A comparison with amine-based materials for invitro and invivo gene transfer efficiency'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Gene transfer Engineering & Materials Science 100%
Block copolymers Engineering & Materials Science 81%
Amines Engineering & Materials Science 69%
Copolymers Engineering & Materials Science 69%
Block Copolymer Chemistry 47%
Guanidine Medicine & Life Sciences 45%
Copolymer Chemistry 38%
Brain Engineering & Materials Science 34%
Choi, J. L., Tan, J. K. Y., Sellers, D. L., Wei, H., Horner, P. J., & Pun, S. H. (2015). Guanidinylated block copolymers for gene transfer: A comparison with amine-based materials for invitro and invivo gene transfer efficiency. Biomaterials, 54, 87-96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2015.03.008
Guanidinylated block copolymers for gene transfer : A comparison with amine-based materials for invitro and invivo gene transfer efficiency. / Choi, Jennifer L.; Tan, James Kevin Y; Sellers, Drew L. et al.
In: Biomaterials, Vol. 54, 01.06.2015, p. 87-96.
Choi, JL, Tan, JKY, Sellers, DL, Wei, H, Horner, PJ & Pun, SH 2015, 'Guanidinylated block copolymers for gene transfer: A comparison with amine-based materials for invitro and invivo gene transfer efficiency', Biomaterials, vol. 54, pp. 87-96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2015.03.008
Choi JL, Tan JKY, Sellers DL, Wei H, Horner PJ, Pun SH. Guanidinylated block copolymers for gene transfer: A comparison with amine-based materials for invitro and invivo gene transfer efficiency. Biomaterials. 2015 Jun 1;54:87-96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2015.03.008
Choi, Jennifer L. ; Tan, James Kevin Y ; Sellers, Drew L. et al. / Guanidinylated block copolymers for gene transfer : A comparison with amine-based materials for invitro and invivo gene transfer efficiency. In: Biomaterials. 2015 ; Vol. 54. pp. 87-96.
@article{951753cac4d54fdb82a73eba24cbe246,
title = "Guanidinylated block copolymers for gene transfer: A comparison with amine-based materials for invitro and invivo gene transfer efficiency",
abstract = "There is currently no cure for neuron loss in the brain, which can occur due to traumatic injury or neurodegenerative disease. One proposed method to enhance brain neurogenesis is gene transfer to neural progenitor cells. In this work, a guanidine-based copolymer was synthesized and compared to an amine-based copolymer analog previously shown to effectively deliver genes in the murine brain. The guanidine-based copolymer was more efficient at gene transfer to immortalized, cultured cell lines; however, the amine-based copolymer was more effective at gene transfer in the brain. DNA condensation studies revealed that the nucleic acid complexes formed with the guanidine-based copolymer were more susceptible to unpackaging in the presence of anionic proteoglycans compared to complexes formed with the amine-based copolymer. Therefore, polyplexes formed from the amine-based copolymer may be more resistant to destabilization by the heparan sulfate proteoglycans present in the stem cell niches of the brain.",
keywords = "Brain, Gene delivery, Guanidine, Polymer",
author = "Choi, {Jennifer L.} and Tan, {James Kevin Y} and Sellers, {Drew L.} and Hua Wei and Horner, {Philip J.} and Pun, {Suzie H.}",
note = "Funding Information: This work was supported by NIH 2R01NS064404 ; JKYT was supported by NSF GRFP ( 2011128558 ). We are grateful to Prof. Wei Zheng (Purdue University) for the generous donation of the Z310 cell line. We thank Prof. Patrick Stayton (University of Washington) for use of his ZetaPALS analyzer and Prof. Shaoyi Jiang (University of Washington) for use of his Malvern Zetasizer. We would also like to thank Jevin Chan for encouraging and supporting us throughout this work. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2015 Elsevier Ltd. Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.",
doi = "10.1016/j.biomaterials.2015.03.008",
journal = "Biomaterials",
T1 - Guanidinylated block copolymers for gene transfer
T2 - A comparison with amine-based materials for invitro and invivo gene transfer efficiency
AU - Choi, Jennifer L.
AU - Tan, James Kevin Y
AU - Sellers, Drew L.
AU - Wei, Hua
AU - Horner, Philip J.
AU - Pun, Suzie H.
N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by NIH 2R01NS064404 ; JKYT was supported by NSF GRFP ( 2011128558 ). We are grateful to Prof. Wei Zheng (Purdue University) for the generous donation of the Z310 cell line. We thank Prof. Patrick Stayton (University of Washington) for use of his ZetaPALS analyzer and Prof. Shaoyi Jiang (University of Washington) for use of his Malvern Zetasizer. We would also like to thank Jevin Chan for encouraging and supporting us throughout this work. Publisher Copyright: © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
N2 - There is currently no cure for neuron loss in the brain, which can occur due to traumatic injury or neurodegenerative disease. One proposed method to enhance brain neurogenesis is gene transfer to neural progenitor cells. In this work, a guanidine-based copolymer was synthesized and compared to an amine-based copolymer analog previously shown to effectively deliver genes in the murine brain. The guanidine-based copolymer was more efficient at gene transfer to immortalized, cultured cell lines; however, the amine-based copolymer was more effective at gene transfer in the brain. DNA condensation studies revealed that the nucleic acid complexes formed with the guanidine-based copolymer were more susceptible to unpackaging in the presence of anionic proteoglycans compared to complexes formed with the amine-based copolymer. Therefore, polyplexes formed from the amine-based copolymer may be more resistant to destabilization by the heparan sulfate proteoglycans present in the stem cell niches of the brain.
AB - There is currently no cure for neuron loss in the brain, which can occur due to traumatic injury or neurodegenerative disease. One proposed method to enhance brain neurogenesis is gene transfer to neural progenitor cells. In this work, a guanidine-based copolymer was synthesized and compared to an amine-based copolymer analog previously shown to effectively deliver genes in the murine brain. The guanidine-based copolymer was more efficient at gene transfer to immortalized, cultured cell lines; however, the amine-based copolymer was more effective at gene transfer in the brain. DNA condensation studies revealed that the nucleic acid complexes formed with the guanidine-based copolymer were more susceptible to unpackaging in the presence of anionic proteoglycans compared to complexes formed with the amine-based copolymer. Therefore, polyplexes formed from the amine-based copolymer may be more resistant to destabilization by the heparan sulfate proteoglycans present in the stem cell niches of the brain.
KW - Gene delivery
KW - Guanidine
U2 - 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2015.03.008
DO - 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2015.03.008
JO - Biomaterials
JF - Biomaterials

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


When I started middle school, I decided I wanted to learn an instrument.
I was nine, and playing Amazing Grace on the recorder just wasn't cutting it for me anymore.
Which is how I found myself, just a couple of months later, sweating as I heaved my school bag, PE Kit, a cello and a trombone into my classroom every Wednesday morning.
I played both instruments for a total of two years, then decided I wanted to move onto bigger and better things.
I play piano by ear, so when my family relocated to Dorset, I asked my parents if I could, instead, have piano lessons. We bought a piano.
Then, I asked if I could get saxophone lessons. I was bought a saxophone. Piano, admittedly, I still play. Saxophone lasted approximately 18 months – if that.
The phrase 'jack of all trades, master of none', doesn't come close to my constant, incessant searching for the next best thing I could prove myself at.
Despite newspaper headlines, it isn't a trait that was developed due to my status as a millennial, it's always for me, been about proving myself to my peers. Making a name for myself around school as the one who plays music, the one who sings, the one who plays the piano.
For the most part, it's harmless. It took me to Italy, as I wanted to prove I could get away from my small Dorset town.
It led me to Royal Holloway, after applying to ten universities for two different courses. At university, I threw myself into every aspect of uni life.
Throughout my time there, I was Director of Marketing for a society, Head of Marketing for the radio station, co-hosted a radio show, played for the football team, played for the social netball league, worked two jobs… and studied for my degree.
Then, I got a London PR job. But instead, that need to prove myself, took me to Australia. Not because I didn't want to go to Australia, I really, did. But instead of waiting to be prepared, I loved knowing people around me admired my choice to leave my 9-5 and buy a one-way ticket.
And throughout my adult life, the biggest way for me to prove myself, has always been to leave my small, Dorset town, which is why I've always done everything in my power to ensure that didn't happen.
So imagine my surprise when my fully formed, adult brain, decided I was going to stay at home for a year, and save money.
After 23 years of looking for the next best thing, I'm currently coming to terms with being content in what I have, what I'm doing, where I am.
After so long of trying to get out, I've decided to use this year to better myself.
To go to the gym, to have a stable job, to see the friends I have and the friends I love.
I've taken on a 9-5 so I can save money on top of my freelance writing. I have a real, hardback diary instead of an iCalendar.
I have spreadsheets on my incomings and outgoings, I've pulled out of my job offer for a summer in France.
I've booked weekend trips to look forward to, and then, I'll come home, where I'm living with my parents. (Even though I'm turning 24 this year and 15-year-old me thought I'd be engaged by now).
For the first time in my whole life, I'm using the resources I have at hand to become more stable, instead of running away and leaving a hot mess in my wake.
Ironically, the stability this next year holds is far more terrifying to me, than booking a one-way ticket to a foreign country.
This was a great post to read. I am going through something rather similar. I am 24 and I am living with my parents to save money. This is because my parents never let me worry about getting a job throughout my time at university - and not at any time before that. I am currently a mess, but I just read what you've written and I appreciate every word. I wish you all the very best this year - well done for recognising the issue and dealing with it. I am sure there are better things to come for you! Good Luck!!


text:
Disenfranchisement : EQNext, Landmark
A few days ago Azuriel curated a collection of quotes from ex-WoW superdev Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street and other MMO pros. It all made for an interesting read for anyone curious about the men and women behind the curtains but the stand-out quote for me came from current Blizzard employee, Community Manager Bashiok, who said, in response to a direct question on what Blizzard considers to be the biggest barrier to entry for WoW :
"Well *I* consider the biggest barrier being it's a 3D WASD game with a movable camera."
Ghostcrawler chimed in to agree, adding that "a lot of data" supports this view, although sadly he declined to detail or link to any of that data.
Yesterday Ultraviolet put up a post about the coming of combat to Landmark. He was understandably puzzled by the implementation. Like just about every other aspect of Landmark's development, what's being promoted (through a PR campaign that includes a video trailer, no less) is in fact nothing more than the very earliest, bare-bones iteration of the underlying system.
Ultraviolet was surprised to find that "Combat" in Landmark currently means player-made arenas only. He clearly doesn't follow Massively's coverage because they have been doing the topic to death of late, with two combat-oriented LiveStreams, an editorial/review and a rundown of the ten best Landmark PvP arenas, all in the space of two weeks.
I haven't logged into Landmark for a long time. It's largely unplayable on my aging PC and development moves at such a glacial pace I've decided it can easily wait until I upgrade my hardware later this year or even next spring.
I don't appear to be alone. Every one of the many bloggers I follow, who were talking about the game earlier this year, has gone silent on the topic. Interest appears to be at an historic low, although Syp's current "What Are You Playing?" poll shows a surprising eleven respondents have logged in at least once during the last couple of weeks.
Just because I'm not playing, however, doesn't mean I've lost interest in the game or its development. It will, after all, provide the bedrock and most of the structure around which EQNext will be built. So, I read Ultraviolet's piece with interest, watched the trailer embedded above and went to visit the forums, where I spent the best part of an hour reading threads on Landmark's combat and how it's going down with those members of the hardcore fanbase willing to put finger to keyboard.
It's a depressing read, largely because the Landmark forums now consist almost entirely of a very small number of deeply committed, highly articulate individuals with fixed ideas about what the game ought to be. Most threads either have single-figure responses or degenerate into lengthy arguments between two or three individuals who've clearly been in the process of scoring points off each other for months.
What does come through very plainly is that Landmark's combat, and thereby, inevitably, EQNext's, will look and play absolutely nothing like any previous Everquest game, nor indeed like any tab-target, stand-and-cast MMO, nor yet even like any GW2-style hybrid. The comparisons being made are primarily to MOBAs although the more optimistic of the nervous brigade hold onto the hope that they might end up with combat that looks and feels more like Neverwinter Nights.
Perhaps the oddest thing about this latest round of Landmark/EQNext's eternally odd development process is that it would now appear that the games will have two entirely different control systems, in and out of combat: systems that seem to bear no resemblance to each other at all. Maybe we'll end up with two separate cultures living side by side in the same imaginary world, the keyboard clickers doing all the crafting and the mouse-shooters doing all the killing. At this point I'd believe almost anything.
In the comments on my first ArcheAge open beta post Netherlands said "The news that the combat is from what I understand mercifuly not 'action combat' ... does make me more interested in ArcheAge". Yes, it made me more interested too. Indeed, it's one of the key reasons I can imagine playing AA in the future.
My feeling is that we are increasingly unlikely to see very many big-budget new games or virtual worlds using the traditional 3D MMORPG controls that we became familiar with from Meridian 59 and Everquest onwards. Those systems, which appeared to serve us very well for almost two decades, will be discarded without hesitation by the large corporations who fund development of these lengthy, expensive projects if doing so leads to, or is believed to lead to, significantly greater market penetration. If WASD movement and a moving camera really are the biggest inhibitor on take-up for what is often claimed to be the most successful MMORPG so far, and if there's now an established, highly-successful alternative, to do otherwise would be fiscally irresponsible.
Chances are, then, that by moving to adopt the control and combat tropes of other genres the decline in audience interest in MMOs can be halted and reversed. All well and good for the companies and developers who make them but what does it mean for "traditional" MMORPG enthusiasts?
Many MMO players already play other types of video games and are familiar and comfortable with FPS or MOBA fixed viewpoint, action-oriented control systems. Those players may or may not welcome the transition but they at least won't be frightened away. Many more MMO players will be sufficiently flexible and adaptable to learn the new systems, either willingly or grudgingly, provided they are sufficiently interested in a specific game. I count myself among that group.
That will leave a significant number of traditional MMORPG players who currently pretty much only play MMORPGs. For many MMOs that demographic will include both the most casual and the most committed - the grans and the fans. For fans wishing to stick with tab-target and a moving camera the options will almost certainly be reduced to older MMOs or niche offerings. The big, new AAA releases will simply become irrelevant for them, of no more interest than the launch of a new World War 2 shooter or sports sim. For grans only interested in sharing an interest with and having the chance to chat to their grandchildren there are now so many better ways of doing that it should hardly matter.
And that's fine, until you factor in the franchises. Some MMOs have a core fanbase whose interest lies primarily in the lore, the world and, of course, the social connections they have made there. Those players are possibly the least tolerant of change and the least flexible in attitude while being both the most lucrative customers and the most vocal proponents of the games they adore. Those are the people who are going to feel locked out of the future of franchises they have, in some cases, given decades of their lives to support.
When EQNext launches (I want to say if EQNext launches but let's be positive!) it won't be pretty. If it's a runaway success there will be a disgruntled rump of elder gamers, who won't adapt. Left behind in EQs one and two they'll feel bitter, rejected and also increasingly threatened and fearful as their more flexible game-mates make the decision to jump ship for the new shiny. SOE Live won't be a comfortable place for devs that year. Contrarily, if EQNext bombs, there will be a deafening chorus of "I told you so"s from the old guard that should last just about as long as it takes them to realize that EQNext's failure may have closed the door on any future development of Norrath for good and all.
However all this plays out one thing's for certain. No matter how many "build our game" alphas and "you are the dev" initiatives we sign up for, no matter how often or how loudly we speak out in Round Tables or Ask Me Anythings, change will come and it's unlikely to be the change some of us would choose. Adapt to the future or retire to the past - for as long as the past can last.
And I haven't even mentioned VR.
Labels: combat, EQNext, Landmark, MMO, systems
Ettesiun September 9, 2014 at 3:52 PM
As a non MMO veteran, having mostly played GW/GW2 and a bit of Aion, I found the control of ArcheaAge very ackward : why can't I attack the mob clearly in front of me until I have slowly click on it = release right-click, put your mouse on the enemy, then Left-click ? After 6h of game, I only have 4 attacks, and they are all the same : just give me one ! Or give me 4 that do different thing ! For the heal, I need to Alt + 8 to target myself. Why the button to let me go on horse, does not work to go off ? Why is the mana used to run ? Cool a boat... but how do I turn ? The mice does not do anything neither the MoveLeft/Right button... Ok I need to go to the Arrow key to drive the boat...
And the UI : the "map" is totally... The equipment window does not show the stat, etc... Where are the scroll of identification ? Oh you do not need it but just right click on it... But it consumes... something... used to craft. Ok when I click on a forge, it propose me to... craft a strange stone ? no weapon ?
About coop : why if someone hit a monster before me, I do not have the credit ?Hey I am dead, nobody want to rez me ? And how can I revive other ? Hey, PNJ, why you do not mind if I step on you, you have not seen I just killed your friend 1m away ?
I would like to have question about the world : how to fish ? to have a mount ? etc... But those are question about the interface between the game and me.
Bhagpuss September 9, 2014 at 10:49 PM
I didn't really spend long enough or delve deep enough to come across most of those issues but for the time I did spend there I found the controls and UI extremely familiar and comfortable. The Guild Wars games would both be relative outliers in the MMORPG spectrum, I think. Neither of them has controls that are all that much like WoW's and the gameplay is fairly non-standard too.
Some WoW players certainly struggle with the transition to GW2 although its such a simple UI that most of them get there in the end. I would guess that, given the large number of gameplay options AA offers, it would be among the more challenging MMOs for someone new to the genre in terms of just working out how to make your character do want you want him to do. I'm guessing that AA really won't appeal to many people who aren't already pretty steeped in MMO culture, for a number of reasons, not least among them the kind of issues you list.
Ald Shot First September 9, 2014 at 8:24 PM
I've stated this before but i honestly feel SoE has realized that their disgruntled and small playerbase isn't doing them any favors and has moved from them. They're obviously chasing the younger Minecraft/MOBA crowd. This is disappointing as i absolutely loath MOBA's and blame them for all the issued we now have with actual MMO's.
I too stopped playing Landmark a bit ago. It was mostly due to having seen what i wanted to see from the building aspects. I was waiting on combat implementation. Unfortunately, the more i see of the actual combat, the less i want to even bother with it.
I cannot stand attacks being bound to mouse clicks. It's terrible and combat related to it is terrible in my eyes.
I completely agree. It's apparent from many of their videos and livestreams that that's where their coming from, to the point that occasionally they seem to be trolling their own core fanbase. It's very strange in that most of the people working on LM/EQN appear to be at least in their 30s, with the senior people in their 40s and 50s. don't believe for a second that most of these people are making the games they want to play the way they were doing with the original Everquest. If there's one reason EQNext will fail it's that.
I also think they are hugely overestimating the name recognition that the EQ brand might have outside the current MMORPG clique. It's blindingly obvious from the open chat channels in any MMO not published by Sony that many people playing MMOs these days have never even heard of Everquest. If they turn their backs on the customers they still have there's really no guarantee the EQ brand in itself will bring in anyone else.
They'd just better make a real humdinger of a game or they're stuffed.
Ald Shot First September 10, 2014 at 3:52 AM
Absolutely agree.
Wilhelm Arcturus September 9, 2014 at 9:19 PM
It is getting harder to maintain the little voice within me that keeps saying, "EverQuest Next will come! It will come and it will bring us joy and quests and smite our enemies!" I want to believe.
I think there's a real chance we might never see EQNext, especially if H1Z1 and Landmark were both to tank. They are so clearly aiming to exploit existing market trends that, with their pace of development being so very slow and ponderous, they must be seriously at risk of launching games that come out of the gate looking like yesterday's news. I wonder if some of the devs now wish they'd just stuck to the original development plan.
If they ever get this thing rolling I will play it whatever it is like, at least for a while. I do already have a fallback position for the combat style if I find it unmanageable on the PC: I'll buy a PS4 and play it on that. Or possibly it might have to be a PS5.
Wilhelm Arcturus September 11, 2014 at 6:48 PM
Smed seems to be driving the agenda more than he used to... at least publicly. Maybe he was always doing so in private.
Interesting tidbit: Smed is hosting an EVE Online CFC get-together at SOE HQ this Saturday evening. Smed plays EVE off and on and has been in the CFC in the past. He has also gone to EVE Fanfest.
There are some former CCP devs on the list of those attending, along with The Mittani and some Goon luminaries. If I could get down there, I would totally attend, as this is sparking some rumors of SOE buying CCP again, especially since a pack of CCP devs have left for Riot Games.
If SOE bought CCP certain parts of the internet would burst into flame. Be fun to watch.
I actually first heard of The Goons way back when I was playing my very first run of EQ. I was doing some research on servers to see where I might like to start a new character and I kept running across warnings that either The Goons were on a particular server and making it hell for everyone or they were about to arrive on another and make it hell for everyone there instead. I imagine there are a lot of crossovers between old-time EQ players and the CFC.
Isey September 10, 2014 at 4:26 PM
I think if Landmark was built solely to compete with Minecraft and no other reason, it could be a great game. Give me personal worlds to build, screw the online part (but have it there if I want it). It filled a creative niche for me that Minecraft used to - but I hate the non-permanence effect on the world.
Every game doesn't have to be online to be good, you know. (by you, I mean, them. but you know that. The real you.)
To be fair, they said right from the start that Landmark would be a fully fledged MMO. People just got hooked on the "Building" part because that was all there was (and still pretty much IS).
I haven't got a problem with Landmark being a lot more than a more realistic Minecraft. I've got a problem with it progressing at the pace of a very elderly snail crawling over broken glass.
I don't have a problem with it either - I just think they are missing the big picture of what that game could be, by confining it to an always online MMO (and trying to squeeze in things like combat and the like that don't seem to "fit". I'd buy server space to give the world permanence. People are less interested in temporary these days.
Dahakha September 10, 2014 at 4:58 PM
I find it hard to understand why your "elder gamers" would feel rejected, threatened and/or fearful if EQNext succeeds with a different combat system (among other things). They already have a game that caters to them, that they are familiar with, that meets their MMO needs. From the lore perspective, SOE have been crystal clear that there is no continuity between earlier EQ lore and EQNext lore, so they don't lose out on anything in that respect if they don't play EQNext.
There are plenty of games out right now that offer different combat systems, different lore, and different communities. I would expect that those elder gamers who are die-hard EQ fans would make up the majority of the current playerbase - everyone who would be lured away probably already has been. Do you think that EQ fans would jump to a mostly alien environment, where nothing (gameplay, graphics, lore) but some geography and races/factions is the same, solely on the back of a brand name? I'm trying to think of a good analogy, but all I can come up with is comparing The Office (original, UK version) with The Office (US version), and I'm not even sure that's helpful.
It's the very fact that they would be excluded (or really, of course, exclude themselves) by dint of the reasons you list that I feel they'd be upset if EQN was a massive success. It would be like your best friend having a party and inviting a whole bunch of new friends he'd made and telling you you could come along if you liked, only you knew you wouldn't fit in with the new crowd and that your old friend he'd moved on and didn't really want you there reminding him of where he'd come from anyway. People are emotional in these situations, not rational.
That's the rejection part. The threat and fear comes from the worry that, with a newer, more popular, more successful version of EQ on the go the time to phase out the old versions would come ever nearer. What company needs to run three MMOs set in the same place?
I'm a bit puzzled about the "SOE have been crystal clear that there is no continuity between earlier EQ lore and EQNext lore" part. I've read a good deal of the promo material and followed the round tables and watched the Live Streams and I got entirely the opposite impression. I thought the whole premise was that we were in the past (possibly an alternate past) of Norrath where we would get to see how many of the great institutions of the franchise started and even participate in that history. Most of the examples of Rallying Calls I've read seem to be coming from that perspective. Did I misunderstand something?
Dahakha September 11, 2014 at 5:54 AM
Fair enough. Regarding the lore, you're more likely to have the more accurate take on it, I was just going on the initial announcements last year, where they were keen on repeating that "It's Norrath, but not the Norrath you know."
Not sure why they decided to cast their fanbase aside. Everquest means something to a lot of people. Along with that meaning comes certain expectations for game play. I totally hate most everything they have outlined for EQ Next as it appears to have almost no similarity to the Everquest gameplay I have loved to play. I wish they would start over again and this time get it right, give us a sequel, give us something we can enjoy for another 15 years.
jonreece September 11, 2014 at 2:48 AM
Bhagpuss,
I could easily believe that Ghostcrawler and Bashiok do think that the biggest barrier to WoW's success is that it feels like an MMO, not some other kind of game. It felt for years like the improvements they put into play were to do their best to fundamentally alter WoW into some other sort of thing entirely, thus the portals in the capital cities, allowing you direct access to new areas without any of the bother of that whole virtual world thing. Yes, I do think that they think that being a 3D WASD game with a moveable camera was a problem rather than an integral part of the genre.
I'm far from sure that they are correct in this evaluation.
One of the things that I really remember about the end of the first year of WoW was how it was rapidly growing out of the world of "gamers" and into the world of, well, everyone. I remember an article (I think in Forbes) talking about how World of Warcraft was becoming the new golf, how the complexity of organizing a raid team matched well to management skills, how CEOs played it. People talked about putting it on your resume.
This didn't happen. Instead, the "second string" team, under Ghostcrawler, produced a game that would appeal to people with a shorter attention span, who maybe liked Call of Duty. The exploration and discovery was replaced by built in questfinder. Social skills were replaced by "dungeon finder." And the playerbase became younger.
I'm sure their buddies approved. But they could have been so very much more.
I think that's roughly SynCaine's view as well. Not having played Vanilla WoW I can't judge from experience but I've always found it a persuasive argument. It may be that gamers experience in other forms of gaming find WASD and a moving camera difficult or just not as good as what they're used to but I'd have thought for a non-gaming PC user it would feel very natural. It's just point and click like using a website when you think about it.
A fundamental aspect of discussions, speculations like these is we have no numbers -- not even ballpark figures. To watch Smokeblower, et. al. on video postings and think of the size of S O N Y, one could easily think the EQ franchise is a major aspect in the INDUSTRY, but... *shrug* Trouble is, I'm not so sure we really know whether it's a big player in the upcoming markets (read: younger) or some old fart trying to come off quasi-hipster enough to stay in the game (read: East Asian).
Disposable income. There, I said it. You pick.
Yeah, I'm a little frustrated, too. The Wildstar fiasco should be instructive in all this...somehow. It really looked like some sort of attempt at being, I dunno what... modern?
*buzzz* Fail.
SOE/EQetc seem similarly bent but, alienation of established player base aside, they do seem to be flailing and deeply hesitant.I think you've made some (probably) astute points, so it's enough to inspire me to nose down and level an underplayed class toon through Kunark and ignore what's Going On.
-- 7rsly
Antonia Bayle &
(that blob guilty server that gets 2v1 no matter what, just cuz)*
*We keep hoping the Yak tenaciously fights its way to meet us. :)
Just over 24 hours to go. I am nailbiting over our current reckless PPT. I think we're still safe from Gold but I'll be a LOT happier come reset when I know for sure.
NetherLands September 16, 2014 at 6:20 PM
Better late than never...
Biased as heck in this regard, I'd, too, say that WASD controls are actually pretty standard for PC users but perhaps not for the hip console crowd GC likes best. I remember from Wrath (when GC rose to power) a lot of complaints from the old hands on the official forums that GC was turning the game into a console game, catering to console players etc. Though I am the first to say that UI is a huge factor in wether a player sticks around or not, and the success of WoW has no doubt to do with a) being able to be ran on a toaster and b) having a more accessible UI than previous games.
I think that the 'upcoming' bitterness from older players may also stem from the fact that the limited AI and (lack of) lasting effect on the game world was always a major immersive flaw in 'themepark' virtual world games, EQN promised to finally solve this - and now they're slated to being blocked from this because of (trying to) appeal(ing) to a far different demographic. Even if my funds will stay thusly, I don't think I'd personally buy a PS just to bounce a Gnome around Norrath.
Count me in the camp that Landmark would likely work better if it was 'just' an online building game, when I read that they're aiming to e.g. bring in Achiever Bartle types into its fold I did, I am sorry to say, roll my eyes and decided not to play it, as IMO catering to Achiever types is one of the worst mistakes MMORPG's made - I play games to escape the rat-race, not to run another one for pixel prizes and 'survival' (aka gear treadmill).
The Day The World Turned Greyscale : GW2, ArcheAge...
Shock Of The New
You've Ruined Your Own Lands! : WoW, ArcheAge, Eve...
The View From Level 10 : ArcheAge
It's The Little Things : GW2
Let's Keep Dancing : GW2 et al
Run That One By Me Again? : GW2
Go! Go! Go! : GW2
The Backpack Feature. A Feature In Which I Back A ...
Pocket Review, Take Two : ArcheAge
Another Day, Another MMO : ArcheAge
Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em : Pre-Tourney Strategy An...
Ding 95! : EQ2


text:
///<reference path="APIRequest.ts"/>
///<reference path="APIResponse.ts"/>
///<reference path="AccelerationListener.ts"/>
///<reference path="BaseSensorBridge.ts"/>
///<reference path="CommonUtil.ts"/>
///<reference path="IAcceleration.ts"/>
///<reference path="IAccelerationListener.ts"/>
///<reference path="IAdaptiveRPGroup.ts"/>
///<reference path="IBaseSensor.ts"/>
module Adaptive {

     /**
        @class Adaptive.AccelerationBridge
        @extends Adaptive.BaseSensorBridge
        Interface defining methods about the acceleration sensor

        @author Carlos Lozano Diez
        @since v2.0
     */
     export class AccelerationBridge extends BaseSensorBridge implements IAcceleration {

          /**
             @method constructor
             Default constructor.
          */
          constructor() {
               super();
          }

          /**
             @method
             Register a new listener that will receive acceleration events.

             @param {Adaptive.AccelerationListener} listener listener to be registered.
             @since v2.0
          */
          addAccelerationListener(listener : IAccelerationListener) : void {
               // Create and populate API request.
               var arParams : string[] = [];
               var apiRequest : APIRequest = new APIRequest("IAcceleration","addAccelerationListener",arParams, listener.getId());
               postRequestListener(apiRequest, listener, registeredAccelerationListener);
          }

          /**
             @method
             De-registers an existing listener from receiving acceleration events.

             @param {Adaptive.AccelerationListener} listener listener to be registered.
             @since v2.0
          */
          removeAccelerationListener(listener : IAccelerationListener) : void {
               // Create and populate API request.
               var arParams : string[] = [];
               var apiRequest : APIRequest = new APIRequest("IAcceleration","removeAccelerationListener",arParams, listener.getId());
               postRequestListener(apiRequest, listener, registeredAccelerationListener);
          }

          /**
             @method
             Removed all existing listeners from receiving acceleration events.

             @since v2.0
          */
          removeAccelerationListeners() : void {
               // Create and populate API request.
               var arParams : string[] = [];
               var apiRequest : APIRequest = new APIRequest("IAcceleration","removeAccelerationListeners",arParams, -1);
               postRequestListener(apiRequest, null, registeredAccelerationListener);
          }
     }
}
/**
------------------------------------| Engineered with ♥ in Barcelona, Catalonia |--------------------------------------
*/

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
package org.rex.text

/**
  * Represents a sentence of words, each with possible tags.
  *
  * @param tokens Every token in the sentence, in-order.
  * @param tags If present, has the part-of-speech tag information for each token.
  * @param entities If present, has the named entity information for each token.
  */
case class Sentence(tokens: Seq[String],
                    tags: Option[Seq[String]] = None,
                    entities: Option[Seq[String]] = None)

object Sentence {

  import edu.arizona.sista.processors.{Sentence => SistaSentence}

  /** Converts a edu.arizaona.sista.processors.Sentence into a org.rex.Sentence in a straightforward manner. */
  implicit def sistaSentence2Sentence(s: SistaSentence): Sentence =
    Sentence(s.words, s.tags.map(_.toSeq), s.entities.map(_.toSeq))

}


Inspired in poems by Sylvia Plath and in the history of San Simón island, LÁZARO explores the conflict that arises between our tendency to self-control ourselves and to marginalization, either to promote or to destroy ideas or live beings, and the ephemeral nature of such things.
Iván Marcos from his formal diversity and continuous research, as well as his poethic and paradoxical views, Iván Marcos tries to polish the mirrors and open the windows of a house that was ablaze.
Christian Wolz combines new singing and language styles with medieval and non-european music structures in order to reach to avant-garde new sounds with a large emotional content.


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text:
Shenfield looks for new role after Ki collapse
Ex-Fidelity fund manager Martin Shenfield is searching for a new role following the collapse of his Asian hedge fund and long only operation Ki Pacific.
Ki has closed following a flight of funds which reduced amounts under management from $130m in 1996 to less than $25m last year.
The closure marks a rare failure for its former backer United...


text:
Kirstin Innes
Scabby Queen
PR & Journalism
Orlando Blooming: A dream becomes reality.
PITCH black. A single figure comes on stage – male, no-one could doubt his sex – and a singing female voice, accented, at times ethereally delicate, at times rasping and sexy, whispers to him, "You are in the prime of life."
• Director Cathie Boyd
The still-empty stage fills up with the sound of a port, of bustle, of marketplaces and snake charmers, and the figure begins to dance, his silhouette spreading over the white drapes behind him. Suddenly, he doesn't seem to be alone on stage any more – but that's because his projected silhouette has cut itself off from him, taken on a life of its own.
It happens again and again as the woman coos and hisses at him, as the music gets faster, till he's dancing with an army of his own shadows, all repeating his movements at different times, and… "and that's enough for just now!" says Cathie Boyd, artistic director of Cryptic (formerly Theatre Cryptic), the long-running Glasgow-based music theatre specialists.
The lights come back up, revealing the small army of technicians who have just worked this miracle, all sitting around the auditorium. The dancer is assistant director and choreographer Joshua Armstrong, standing in for actor Madeleine Worrall, the music was by Craig Armstrong and AGF, the effect I've just witnessed was caused by Living Canvas, an interactive real-time tracking and projection device which hasn't ever been used in theatre before, and we've dropped in during "creation" (not "rehearsals") for Cryptic's new groundbreaking production of Virginia Woolf's 1928 novel Orlando.
Perhaps the best-known incarnation of that story these days is Sally Potter's delicate, witty 1992 film version, which made a star of Tilda Swinton in the eponymous role, a teenage nobleman at the court of Queen Elizabeth I who spends 400-plus years looking for "life and a lover", changing sex and becoming a woman around about the 18th century. At the time, a pale-lipped Swinton waking up one morning to discover she was "exactly the same person, only a different sex" seemed strangely acceptable, chiming as it did with the anaemic, androgynous vibe of early 1990s fashion photography. Woolf herself intended her immortal androgyne as a mock-biography of lover Vita Sackville-West. "Vita was way ahead of her time," says Boyd, whose research into the subject has clearly been thorough – she and Worrall, who will play Orlando, have spent time at Knole, Sackville-West's ancestral manor, where much of the book is set. "You read her letters and she's writing to Virginia that in the future there will be less visual distinction between men and women, which of course is true; Vita was living it already, you know. She used to dress up as this male character, Julian, and parade out with her female lovers on her arm."
Boyd has been champing at the bit to create her own Orlando, for almost all of her professional life, but it wasn't Potter's film that inspired her.
"It was 1993, and I was in Paris. I'd booked to see (legendary American director] Robert Wilson's Orlando, with Isabelle Huppert in it, and I watched it in French. I'm a fairly good French speaker, but even then I was completely blown away by this piece and by the language Darryl Pickney, adapting it, had chosen to use. Then it came to the Edinburgh Festival, in English, with Miranda Richardson, and this production really marked me in a massive way re. my work. The idea of creating my own version has been under my skin since then."
Wilson's productions are famous for both their opulence and their stark theatricality; those familiar with Cryptic's work will see the links with Boyd's directorial style immediately. She likes to be involved in every aspect of a production, from lighting to costuming, and Cryptic pieces are famously technical, using theatre as the space to forge a union of sound and visual, or, as their website puts it,
creating "music to be looked at, not just listened to". Therefore, creating her own version of Orlando seems to have been as much a matter of waiting for the technology to catch up with her as getting the rights to Pickeney's script and finding the right moment.
For a start, how, without camera trickery, do you convey a character passing through several centuries and changing sex, in a one-person play? What I witnessed in "creation", the multiplicity of selves growing and taking on their own lives, is the tool Boyd's Orlando needed to come to life.
"It's all about what sort of tools you use to tell the story." Boyd explains.
"Dr Martin Naef, who was the head of computer science at Glasgow School of Art at the time, came to me back in 2006 to demonstrate this Living Canvas technology they'd been developing. At first they were demonstrating very simply how it could be used for costume changes, that you could change onstage from a pink to a green costume. I realised you could use it to show these other selves; it had the ability to change you, onstage, as an individual. And Orlando is on a journey of self-discovery; he constantly changes, not just his sex, but his personality according to who he's with. He's different with Queen Elizabeth, with his Russian lover Sacha, with the Arch-Duchess who's in love with him. When you are Orlando, when you are going through so many eras and times, how do you capture that? I went away and told Claire Moran (Cryptic's long-time producer] about Living Canvas, and I said, 'I think this is for Orlando.' She practically yelled, 'Oh thank god you're finally going to do Orlando; you've been talking about Orlando ever since I've known you!'"
From that point four years ago, the production has developed slowly, but organically. Realising the scale of the project she was working on (the production has been funded by an Arts and Humanities Research Council grant to develop the technology), Boyd understood that everything else needed to match it.
"I began to think this needs a really epic soundtrack. I mean, Orlando is epic. It's big and it's epic and it's majestic. Craig Armstrong was the only choice."
Armstrong – best known these days for his film soundtrack work on The Incredible Hulk and Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet, seems to have relished the challenge. He suggested bringing in a long-term collaborator, laptop artist Antye Greie, who goes by the moniker AGF, to work on the music, and she's ended up onstage, providing vocals for Orlando's subconscious – that half-sung, sexy whisper drifting over the dance sequence earlier is hers.
"There's a willingness in theatre audiences, to really kind of immerse themselves in a pieces, to give it time to develop," says Armstrong, "whereas I think in film, it can tend to be a little bit more commercial; so on this project, not only was it a pleasure to be given the room to create something abstract, but – and you don't get this with film as often – it's always great when the person you're working for is really as personally excited about the project. Orlando has been bubbling around in Cathie's head for 17 years, and that kind of enthusiasm is always a great thing – it means there's a very strong vision behind it. She's executing exactly what she wants, and as an artist, that's all you can do."
• Orlando premieres at the Traverse, Edinburgh, 30 September until 2 October, and runs at Tramway, Glasgow, from 2-6 November. For more information, see www.cryptic.org.uk
Author portraits by Becky Duncan
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Keep your loved ones safe from covid over Christmas and the new year, urges council leader
By : Frank le Duc
Protect your loved ones from the coronavirus over Christmas and the new year, council leader Phélim Mac Cafferty said this evening (Sunday 20 December).
Councillor Mac Cafferty was speaking after the government announcement yesterday that Brighton and Hove would remain in tier 2. Some parts of Sussex have moved into tier 4.
The leader of Brighton and Hove City Council said: "I recognise that the last-minute tightening of the Christmas rules is very difficult for many people. However, it is our duty to ensure the safety of each other.
"The more time you spend with people, the more chance you have of bringing covid into your home and into other people's homes during Christmas. So please keep contact to a minimum.
"The bottom line is that right now in our city, the number of new cases has more than doubled in one week.
"This increase is very concerning. And we know surrounding areas have also shown a rapid growth.
"We don't yet know what this new strain of the virus means for us and we're sadly anticipating a further rise in cases.
"So while we're allowed to spend Christmas with others, my ask of everyone is to stay at home Christmas and new year as much as possible.
"Keep your Christmases small and short.
"More and more people are going into hospital and people are still dying. I know we have the resolve and resilience to get through this and adapt our Christmases this year.
"Thank you also to the many, many people in our city who have already changed their plans and are following the guidelines."
Councillor Mac Cafferty also urged people in Brighton and Hove doing last-minute shopping to follow the simple guidelines in shops and in the streets.
Councillor Phélim Mac Cafferty
He said: "Before you head out, check that you've got hand gel, you've got your mask and think about doing what I do which is to try to wear your mask from the moment you leave home until you're back.
"If you're using public transport, as well as wearing your mask, make sure that you try to keep your distance as much as possible whether that's queuing or actually on the bus or train.
"In shops, please don't touch things unless you're going to buy them. Think through the surfaces in a shop that many people touch and don't touch your face or eat without washing your hands.
"In any case when you get home, wash your hands. Wear your face coverings, avoid crowded places and keep your hands clean."
Information on the support and help for people over Christmas can be found on the council's website.
Information on what you can and can't do in the four tiers is on the government website.
Brighton school inspected for first time since going into special measures
Howard on Could King Alfred be moving?We need to follow the example shown by Worthing by developing a
Yay matt on Jail sentence reduced for Brighton man who called for jihadFreedom of speech? I thought...yes what a good Brit


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PONTIAC, Mich. — A contractor working on a foreclosed home discovered a "mummified" body — believed to be that of the homeowner who had not been seen by neighbors for years — in the attached garage.
Neighbors thought woman had moved out of the country because they hadn't seen her in years.
The body of the woman, who was in her 40s, was discovered Wednesday in the backseat of a Jeep, parked in the garage of a house on Savanna Drive, according to the Oakland County Sheriff's Office.
Undersheriff Mike McCabe said investigators believe that the woman has been dead since at least 2008. That's the same year the license plate on the Jeep expired.
"She had $54,000 in her account and her bills were being deducted," McCabe said. "Eventually the money ran out and her house went into foreclosure."
An autopsy showed there was no trauma to the body and a cause of death is pending, McCabe said.
McCabe said neighbors had complained that there was a hole in the roof of the home and that raccoons were getting in. The company that was managing the house for the mortgage holder sent a repair man to fix the roof.
"He went into the garage and saw the mummified remains in the backseat and called 911," McCabe said.
McCabe said they believe they have identified some relatives on the East Coast, but he withheld the woman's name until they could be notified.
McCabe said the electricity was still on in the house but moisture had caused black mold throughout the home. Detectives planned to wear firefighter protective suits to inspect the rest of the home, McCabe said.


In high school, I toured in a fake rock band. We called ourselves The Devil's Rejects. My stage persona was Marcus Murder, a gangly guitarist known for his fiendish licks and quiet charm.
I think I peaked early.
Now I'm a writer, a husband, a church-league softball coach. I fly fish on weekends and try to watch my sodium intake.
But I still love to rock, so give me a call if you want to jam.
This is me upside down.
See how creative I am?
This is me pulling up my socks.
Even my feet are client-facing.


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Home / Blog / DfE "needs to keep its opinions to itself" in light of new OCR English reading list
DfE "needs to keep its opinions to itself" in light of new OCR English reading list
Posted by: Greg Smith at 10:02 am, May 8, 2014
The announcement yesterday that Russell Brand's views on drugs, Caitlin Moran's Twitter feed and the thoughts of Dizzee Rascal will be added to the OCR exam board's English A-level reading list was met by the oh-so-predictable media storm.
Arriving as a result of the education secretary Michael Gove's proposed A-level reforms, OCR teamed up with the English and Media Centre education charity to create a syllabus that also includes the I Am The Secret Footballer book among its suggested texts.
Susannah Wilson, an English tutor for Oxford Open Learning, applauded the changes, commenting:
"For teachers and students alike, the prospect of following a syllabus with texts as diverse and interesting as these is an extremely exciting one. An English classroom should be a stimulating and challenging environment – and a joy to study within. Developing the Language and Literature A-Level to include unorthodox and less traditional texts will contribute to the excitement of studying (and teaching) English – and will allow students to develop their understanding of English in all its diverse, fabulous glory."
However, Susannah's view isn't shared by all. Immediately after the course changes were announced, a Department for Education (DfE) source was widely quoted in the media as saying:
"Schools should be aware that if they offer this rubbish in place of a proper A-level, then pupils may not get into good universities. We will expect other exam boards to do better.
"It is immensely patronising to young people to claim that they will only engage with English language and literature through celebrities such as Russell Brand."
The plot thickened further when an official DfE response implied that this new OCR A-level may struggle to receive approval from the exam regulatory board Ofqual.
Susannah, however, hits back at the DfE's stance on the subject, adding: "To a certain extent, a qualification is only as good as the public's perception of it. If the DfE continue to brand it as 'rubbish', then, sure enough, it won't be worth as much as the more traditional English Literature qualification. My concern is not that the unorthodox, unusual texts will bring down the value of the qualification – it is that the DfE's scathing, publicly aired opinions of it will. Providing that the qualification meets the rigorous requirements from Ofqual, the DfE needs to keep its opinions to itself."
Thankfully, Susannah's standpoint, that a varied course showing students how the English language is used across a wide variety of mediums and is ideal for both students and teachers, is one that is shared by the majority of other education professionals that have commented on the story in the past few days.
Oxford Open Learning's senior English tutor Anne Thomas is also right behind Susannah's impassioned viewpoint, adding:
"As an English tutor, I am very aware that English is a living language which is constantly changing and evolving. I think the more we can immerse our students in the various writers and forms of communication which are available today as well as yesterday, the more we are preparing them for what will be happening tomorrow in a linguistic and literary sense.
"I don't know which different forms of communication and which different authors are going to stand the test of time – and neither does anyone else!"
What are your views on this obviously highly-contentious subject? Let us know in the comments.
The Great Depression: Going Down
Variety, Education and Red Tape in Scotland… good idea?
See more by Greg Smith


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Dec 25, 2016 0 Comments
CHRIS COLBOURN, AKA "COOKIE" — Recruited
Chris Colbourn
The early 90s signified the biggest change skateboarding has ever gone through and became the defining principle of what it meant to skateboard. Since then, the pros of the early 90s have managed to rule over skateboarding since they turned it into what it is today. In the early 2000s a few new faces had emerged but still, the ruling pros, the ones who became the owners of companies, the people who say how things are, the people who say who is going to be what, the now establishment, are still those young guys who turned skateboarding on its head over 20 years ago. The chokehold my generation has had for all this time, however, is now slowly starting to loosen its grip on the throat of all those people who dream of coming up and taking their places. It's happening, the new faces are emerging more than the old ones are sticking around. It's an exciting time, some may be bittersweet, but the clock cannot be stopped from ticking. Our hope is that our Recruits someday, maybe 20 years from now, face the same challenges every generation faces with the influx of new faces and talent who do things we only dreamed of. — sb
P-ROD WISH LIST
EARLY CHRISTMAS GIFT — From: Eric Koston
HO HO HO-LE DAMN LEDGE — with Santa Puds
Run & Gun 2016 Run Gun 2016
RUN & GUN 2016 — And The Winner Is…
Chris "Cookie" Colbourn has one thing on his list for Christmas this year: "Santa, as long as you're flying around in your sleigh… will you put this on the cloud for me?" Cookie's Recruit is comin...
Alex Midler has a Christmas wish list, and Santa's checkin' it twice. P-Rod Claus is goin' to town.
Froston's celebrating Christmas a little early this year… Like, real early. NO, seriously, like REALLY, REALLY EARLY. Just watch the damn video…
Santa Puds and The Berrics wish you a very merry Christmas!