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Posts Tagged 'here lies love'
Best Theater of 2013
1. Fun Home – beautiful adaptation of Alison Bechdel's graphic family memoir by Lisa Kron with top-notch score by Jeanine Tesori, an excellent cast with three Alisons and Michael Cerveris as her closeted gay father, keenly directed by Sam Gold and keenly designed by David Zinn.
2. A Midsummer Night's Dream – Julie Taymor's smart, inventive staging with spectacular scenic design by Es Devlin, costumes by Constance Hoffman, and major performances by Kathryn Hunter, David Harewood, Tina Benko, Max Casella and 20 rambunctious children.
3. Love's Labours Lost – fast funny musical adaptation of Shakespeare by director Alex Timbers and composer Michael Friedman in Central Park, with a cast of newly minted stage stars.
4. Good Person of Szechwan – Lear de Bessonet's excellent funky staging of Brecht's masterwork at La Mama ETC (later the Public Theater) starring Taylor Mac and other downtown luminaries.
5. The Designated Mourner – deeply affecting revival of Wallace Shawn's disturbing play with fine performances by Shawn, Deborah Eisenberg, and Larry Pine directed by Andre Gregory.
6. Here Lies Love – delirious immersive musical about Imelda Marcos by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim staged by Alex Timbers with a game young cast headed by Ruthie Ann Miles.
7. Pippin – Broadway revival brilliantly staged by Diane Paulus as a circus with an instantly legendary performance by Andrea Martin.
8. Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 – a chunk of Tolstoy shaped into a dense, hip musical by Dave Molloy and crisply staged cabaret-style by Rachel Chavkin with a memorable leading performance by Philippa Soo (below) and luxurious costumes by Paloma Young.
9. The Assembled Parties – Richard Greenberg's play with a cast of good actors smartly directed by Lynne Meadow.
10. All the Rage – Martin Moran's monologue about loss, death, life purpose, dreams, and anger, delivered with the same beguiling mixture of writerly detail, grace, and humor that characterized The Tricky Part.
11. The Laramie Project Cycle – Tectonic Theater Project's documentary about the murder of Matthew Shepard and its aftermath, still powerful 15 years later.
12. The Flick – Annie Baker's latest crack at mining mundane lives for drama with a richness that bears comparison to Beckett (with whom she shares a reverence for silence) and Chekhov, set in a rundown movie theater (designed with hilarious drabness by David Zinn) with a heartbreaking performance by Matthew Maher (below), directed by Sam Gold.
Clint Ramos for costuming Here Lies Love and Good Person of Szechwan
Judy Kuhn for her performance as Fosca in John Doyle's production of Sondheim's Passion
Marin Ireland for her stylized performance in the title role of David Adjmi's Marie Antoinette
Mark Rylance for his performance as Olivia in the all-male Twelfe Night on Broadway
Tom Pye's set design for Deborah Warner's production of The Testament of Mary
Craig Lucas's libretto for Nico Muhly's Two Boys at the Metropolitan Opera
Bernardine Mitchell for her performance as Rose in La Divina Caricatura
John Tiffany's staging of The Glass Menagerie on Broadway, Bob Crowley's set, and Celia Keenan-Bolger's performance as Laura (below)
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Tags: all the rage, assembled parties, celia keenan-bolger, clint ramos, craig lucas, designated mourner, fun home musical, here lies love, john tiffany, judy kuhn, julie taymor, love's labours lost musical, marin ireland, mark rylance, midsummer night's dream, natasha pierre and the great comet of 1812, pippin, the flick, the laramie project cycle, tom pye
Performance diary: I'LL EAT YOU LAST, HERE LIES LOVE, and MURDER BALLAD
5.10.13 I'm enough of a diehard Bette Midler fan that I would pretty much pay to see her recite the alphabet. I'll Eat You Last, the one-woman play by John Logan (subtitled "A Chat with Sue Mengers"), is not nearly that minimal, and yet walking away from the show, which made me laugh and entertained me well enough for 90 minutes, I couldn't help thinking, "What a strange little nothing of a play." When the curtain rises, after flurry of name-droppy celebrity voicemails, the first words out of her mouth are "I'm not getting up." And she doesn't. Playing the semi-legendary super-agent, she doesn't do much more than sit on the sofa drinking and smoking and telling stories about her famous clients – the first time she saw Barbra Streisand sing in a crummy nightclub, how she pestered William Friedkin into hiring Gene Hackman for The French Connection, how Steve McQueen ruined Ali McGraw's life and career. I suppose in Hollywood this might pass for substantial drama, but on Broadway it seems like pretty thin soup. It is reasonably well-staged by Joe Mantello, with an amusing little bit of audience interaction. And when I think back on the final moment of the play, when the star wanders offstage in a marijuana haze, what registers strongest is the sadness the playwright mentions in his program note, and I have some appreciation for the fact that the play does have an emotional core that makes its impact, weirdly, by never being mentioned or addressed. No matter what kind of life you've led, it's over all too soon, close friendships evaporate, and things that were once all-important now seem pretty inconsequential.
5.11.13 Another figure from recent history radiates from the center of Here Lies Love at the Public Theater, the musical about Imelda Marcos that began life as a concept album by David Byrne in collaboration with Fatboy Slim.
The 2-CD album featured a parade of female pop stars singing the songs: Cyndi Lauper, Tori Amos, Natalie Merchant, Martha Wainwright, Florence Welch, Nellie McKay, Kate Pierson of the B-52s, and Shara Worden from My Brightest Diamond, to name the most famous. The show is staged by Alex Timbers, who blew up the Public Theater with Les Freres Corbusiers' production of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and works similar magic here, casting the show as a karaoke disco party with the audience on their feet, the singers performing to tracks, and everybody constantly shifting all over the room. It's a little hectic but a lot of fun for everyone, and an ingenious solution to a show that would never have withstood some kind of stodgy conventional mounting.
It's really a series of fairly mundane pop songs running through the basic outline of La Marcos's rags to riches life. The political history of the Philippines during the Marcos era is pretty crazy and we get a breezy recap with no real depth or analysis. It's sort of Evita crossed with The Donkey Show but beautifully performed by a knockout cast of mostly young Asian actors, snazzily dressed by Clint Ramos, with choreography by Annie-B Parson that meshes impeccably with Timbers' multimedia staging. Nothing gets belabored. Ruthie Ann Miles is sublime as Imelda. And the title song, which opens and closes the show, becomes an instant, persistent earworm. I've heard worse.
The show has been extended through June 30, and I overheard an usher saying that it's likely to be extended again through July.
5.12.13 Ben and Tom (above) offered to take me out to dinner-anna-show for my birthday, and I picked Murder Ballad at the Union Square Theatre, because the musical by Julia Jordan and Juliana Nash got such rave reviews when it opened at Manhattan Theatre Club's City Center space. We all left underwhelmed by Nash's score, which wants to be Next to Normal, and Jordan's play, which tries to sustain crime-story suspense and poker-game symbolism but boils down to a generic boy-girl love triangle. Trip Cullman went to great lengths to dress this tiny rock musical up with an environmental staging, plunking the action in the middle of the theater, audience on both sides and seated amidst the action in a barroom setting with cabaret tables that the actors climb all over throughout the show.
The actors are appealing and hard-working – Will Swenson, John Ellison Conlee, Rebecca Naomi Jones, and (replacing Karen Olivo) Caissie Levy. But despite the fact that they're singing nonstop (there's virtually no spoken dialogue) at least half the time I could not make out the words coming out of their mouths. I left with much more appreciation for the simple composition and delivery of the songs in Here Lies Love, which offered the audience the kindness of letting the words be heard. We had a yummy meal afterwards at Craftbar.
Tags: alex timbers, annie-b parson, bette midler, david byrne, fatboy slim, here lies love, i'll eat you last, joe mantello, john logan, julia jordan, juliana nash, murder ballad, public theater, ruthie ann miles, trip cullman


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Royal Caribbean drops age for mandatory COVID-19 vaccines to 12 for some cruises
Gene Sloan
Royal Caribbean is starting to go broader with its vaccine mandate, and it's not a good sign for British families hoping to return to cruising this year.
The world's largest cruise line on Friday said all passengers ages 12 and older will need to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccine to cruise with the line in Alaska starting on 1 August.
Even before 1 August, only fully vaccinated passengers over the age of 16 will be allowed to sail on Royal Caribbean voyages in Alaska.
Related: The ultimate guide to Royal Caribbean cruise ships and itineraries
Both of the age cut-offs are lower than the line had previously announced for sailings starting up soon in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. There is currently no timeline to offer vaccinations to Brits under the age of 18.
On those voyages, the line had announced that all passengers ages 18 and older would need to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccine to cruise.
It's not clear whether the new age cut-offs just apply to upcoming Alaska sailings or the Caribbean and Mediterranean sailings, too. A spokesperson for Royal Caribbean did not immediately respond to questions about the topic from TPG.
As of late Friday, Royal Caribbean's website still listed 18 as the cut-off age for a vaccine requirement on Royal Caribbean sailings.
Related: This weekend's weird cruise news: Royal Caribbean trademarks face mask
The new age cut-offs for Royal Caribbean sailings in Alaska were disclosed as part of an announcement Friday that the line and sister brand Celebrity Cruises planned to restart cruises to Alaska in July. The announcement was made by Royal Caribbean Group, the parent company of both Royal Caribbean and Celebrity.
The same age cut-offs announced for Royal Caribbean cruises in Alaska also will apply to Celebrity sailings in Alaska, the announcement said.
Celebrity already had dropped its age cut-off for mandatory vaccines for summer cruises last week from 18 to 16.
A growing number of cruise lines have announced they will require all or most passengers to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccine to cruise on at least some of their ships in the coming months.
In some cases, cruise lines are requiring all passengers to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19. In other cases, cruise lines only are requiring adults to be fully vaccinated.
Related: 7 Things to Know About Royal Caribbean's Hot 'New' Cruise Ship, Navigator of the Seas
Cruise lines that have announced a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for all or at least some upcoming cruises include Carnival Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Cunard Line, Disney Cruise Line, Holland America, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, Princess Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Silversea, Virgin Voyages and Windstar Cruises.
Lines that are restarting operations without requiring passengers to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccine include MSC Cruises, Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection, and German lines TUI Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.
Featured image courtesy of Royal Caribbean.
Gene Sloan has written about cruising for more than 25 years and for many years oversaw USA TODAY's award-winning cruise site, USA TODAY Cruises. He's sailed on nearly 150 ships.

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June 29, 2012 by Midnight Snack Serial
Episode 44: Texts in a Different State of Matter
It's been a while since I posted anything and I have to admit that a lot of stuff has been happening around here and very little of it is academic. Might do a more stalker friendly bio update once I get into the proper discipline of writing regularly. Still, I have been keeping with some of my readings and will probably write on some 90s sitcoms in between readings just to keep things fun.
I've been working a lot on John Bryant's The Fluid Text. This book was a pretty cool one from MA thesis and being able to redifine textual fluidity to make it fit within the model of serial fiction in that the publication forms of the narrative make it change. Now the first few chapters of this book are editorial theory pure gold. I don't rarely underline and mark up things in books but man I've got whole pages with huge asterisks of awesomeness. The one problem is that I think I've got all the good stuff already, hence any good passages I assume that I've already quoted before. And the rest I mark off as irrelevant because it's all about Hemingway and his bookTypee. Short version: The British/European version was really good and rathe raunchy. When they brought the book to be published in the US it was basically gutted and edited worse than watching the tv version of Scarface. Whole chapters were removed, a bunch of small sentences just about everywhere and they never acknowledged the short sequel. The UK version however was unedited and included the sequel in its subsequent reprints. It's like what you actually imagine the Director's Cut/Unrated version of a movie. It gets even weirder once a bunch of textual theorists got together to make a version of the book that contained all of its variants between the version, something called a "genetic edition".
So yeah, textual fluidity is awesome and can be applied to anything. I wonder if I could ever make a genetic edition of OOTS showing stuff like time between installments, footnotes gallore to explain references, and all the bonus comics from the books. That would be amazing.
Episode 43: Holodeck Serials Part Deux
Finished reading book a while ago but post about it completely escaped me. There are two things that were readily apparent throughout my work with the the text. As I mentioned previously, you can really feel the book's age. There are a lot of moments where Murray contextualizes digital narratives by saying that it is in its early years and that the future holds so much potential as to how storytelling can get to. The weird thing is that I feel that I am living in this future that she hopes for, where computers do some pretty amazing things when it comes to cool digital texts. Especially when it comes video games, where the narratives is really extended and has gone beyond the "violent natures" that Murray says is a staple of the medium (which I totally get even before GTA 3 changed the landscape of freeform violence but it feels like she is putting video games down).
The second point is the weird equilibrium act that Murray goes through by saying in one part how hypertext and digital expansion are completely new and then saying that you see the spirit of it hundreds of years before. It was a similar feeling to what I went through when taking a New Media class during my MA. If you really push beyond the boundaries of the metaphysical box you will see that there are a lot of innovations and acceptance into the mainstream but very rarely do we get to see anything actually new. If you ever want to see old school hypertext, just take a glimpse at motherfracking Finnegan's Wake, you need like six extra books and an old map, not to mention a million footnotes to understand pretty much anything.
Something else that pops up is the importance of exploration and interaction. The holodeck and the promise of digital storytelling is that you can go off the rails and be free to basically do whatever you want. This seems a lot more ludological than narratological but it's a pretty cool idea. The whole multiple perspectives is considered to be kaleidescopic, shifting changing and colorful.
Now I will go through some of my highlighted material and give some quick important parts for future review.
Introduction: Pedagogically speaking, it's important to "create immersive learning environments." 6 very ludological
"the computer is not the enemy of the book. it is the child of print culture. 8
Ch.1 p.21 Aldous Huxley's A Brave New World is presented as the dystopic version of how technological storytelling can screw you up. "multisensory media is overpowering.
p. 26 the whole page is cool. holodeck vs feely. "eventually all successful storytelling technologies become transparent.
Ch 2 p.28 "incunabula" indicates the outputs of a technology that are still in their infancy.
p. 30 "multiform story" story that has same plot shown in different versions. Like Rashomon or It's a Wonderful Life
p. 55 "lexias" reading units, originally proposed by Barther, later adapted by Landow to denote hyperlinks.
Ch 3. p.66 every new medium has an an incunabular period. In the case of film: "by aggressively exploring and exploiting these physical properties, filmmakers changed a mere recording technology into an expressive medium"
p.72 Eliza the computer program psychology that is the mother of all chatbots.
p. 77 Murral loves the game Zork, big use of participant interactions to help the story be developed.The problem is that programmers need to plan for everything by keeping the story formulaic.
p. 85 Just all of it is awesome. Fans are super important because they actually like narrative continuity. Websites surround just about anything now, adding a new level to the story via archive and open possibilities for fan interaction and further evels of storytelling.
p. 91 Ted nelson, guy who made up the word "hypertext", says that it works best for our contemporary "hummingbird minds"
Ch 4 98-99 "immerssion as a participatory activity" learning how to swim. "computers are liminal, located on the threshold between external reality and our own mind."
p 101 Peter Pan the play (clap if you believe, moment) is audience participation at its best
p. 104 Tristam Shandy and Daffy Duck are super examples of metatextual elements as I like to call them.
p. 107 hypertext vs hyperreal rides at amusement extending the narrative of the film, making an actual immersive environment
p. 110 It's not suspension of disbelief but rather actively creating belief.
p. 116-117 MUDs and LARPs are AMAZING! because immersion at maximum, story is fluid.
Ch 5 p. 132-33 Deleuze's rhizome, connectivity of ideas, applied to postmodern hypertext. Kind of like a kudzu plot.
p. 146 light gun is an "ideal threshold object"
p. 152-3 "Authorship in electronic media is procedural"
Ch 6 p. 156 Regardless of how weird a medium is we understand it because "we know how to read the conventions of these media."
p. 167 The Bronte sisters loved to make their fantasy worlds with complex characters and plots that reflected their lives. They would have been awesome at Dungeons & Dragons if all the stories weren't crazy romances.
p.170 Digital stories allow us to "enact stories rather than to merely witness them"
p. 174 Cool quote by Michael Joyce about the importance of closure. p. 175 people were really sad when Cheers ended "it provoked an orgy of public nostalgia."
p. 181 "simulation narrative allows us to explore process… it allows us to participate in the performance."
Ch 7 Master plots and tropes galore. Vladimir Propp and oral storytelling analysis.
Not much to say beyond that point.
June 5, 2012 by Midnight Snack Serial
Episode 42: Serials on the Holodeck: Part 1
In my attepmts to take my reading labor more seriously, I am attempting to turn my analytical responsibilities and to an etent my blogging capacities into my full time job so to speak. I need to get a lot more hours done a day but I'm working my way up. I have already gone through some of the more fun books in my list and need to balance it out with some critical theories. Now most of the books on the theoretical side of my readings were already read for my MA thesis, and by read I mean looked at the one chapter that made the most sense to my writing and quoted it extensivelly. To get me on the right track, I'm starting out with Janet H. Murray's Hamlet on the Holodeck, one of the books that paved he way for electronic literature, digital humanities, and just about anything having to do with technology completely changing the way the printed word can be perceived.
The first thing that you will notice upon reading this book is that it is really obvious that this book was written in the mid 90s.I get this really cool feeling of nostalgia when they start saying that this new show called Wings uses a website, or that SimCity is a really realistic simulation city. It does however get really weird when you see that VIrtual Reality and super 3D was the hope for the future. It gets kind of odd once it gets to the parts where the most realistic version of a videogmae with interactive storytelling is an MUD or a full scale LARP game. So yeah the book does not age well but I think it goes to show just how crazy the advancements of technology have taken place in less than 20 years. Then again, had Murray been able to predict the craziness that is Google, Wikipedia, Augmented Reality (even if it just a marketing term), not to mention the gamechanger that is Minecraft, to see how much the Internet has changed between the ages of AOL 600 hours of free Internet and our present. Oh man the next generation is going to look at the Super Nes graphics the same way that I look at the Atari 2600. The good news about this is that it's constantly changing so my research may actually be relevant towards the everchanging landscape of of narratives in cyberspace.
Here's some context for those with minimal nerd cred out there. Let me explain what exactly is a Holodeck. You see, my generation's perception of Star Trek brings to mind The Next Generation series rather than the original. As someone wrote in something else which I can't remember but the quote itself was pretty awesome: Star Trek reminds me of a bald British guy trying to act French. Also, if anyone says that Picard is a heartless captain, they are technically right because he has artificial pump that looks like Tony Stark would want to upgrade to for better cardiac output. So, ST:TNG had many geektastic elements but the holodeck was certainly something that made imaginations suddenly rethink what was possible in the realm of reading, and more importantly for storytelling. It is a slightly big room that has nothing in it, you go inside and tell the computer what you want, and then the magic happens. Ok, not magic so let me go into some technobabble to explain the process. The holodeck uses hard light technology to project holograms that actually have mass and are thus perceptible by all senses. Thus, objects that are presented have an actual texture and weight, something that is pretty impossible your standard CNN/Tupac hologram. The cool thing about the holodeck is that any variable can indeed be changed by just asking the computer to make necessary alterations. All of these things are pretty awesome when you consider how you can custom tailor a virtual vacation to incredible specifications.
As cool as a holoprogram sounds, it pales in comparison to a holonovel. Imagine that you were seeing a movie but were no subjected to the camera's gaze as your only vantage point. You see, there's an observation mode that allows you to walk around the entirety of the setting without effecting the story. You are Emerson's invisible eye, wandering around with complete freedom. Remember, how I said that any variable can change, well that includes the personalities of the actual characters. That means that the computer can alter any aspect of the story from the original text and will continue going without even so much as a hint of lag. To be fair, the computer on the Starship Enterprise and Holodeck is Siri to the power of Jarvis.
That's not even the coolest part about the holonovel system. You can take the place of any character, or even ask the computer to make a new character for you. Now you are a leaving and breathing part of the narrative. It gets pretty funky when you think just how much adlibbing you can get away with, or when you act completely out of character. Every other character will act accordingly but may easily dismiss you if you start talking craziness or think that you are a witch depending on the temporal setting. It gets even cooler once you see that you can use the holodeck to playback historical archives. There's a weird episode of one of the most recent version of Star Trek Enterprise, technically a prequel with Scott Bakula of Quantum Leap fame being captain. The cool part was that the entire episode was the now Admiral William T. Reiker of ST:TNG was going to give an important address to Starfleet and used the holodeck to see and live through a harrowing moment that those members of the Enterprise went through. He was even the cook so that he could talk to several people in the crew and get their thoughts on the matter. Pretty awesome stuff that the 25th century might have eventually.
Anyways, tomorrows post will go into more detail as to the book itself. Provided of course that my arms will be in working order. If you haven't seen it yet, I posted on my FB a photo that for every like in a 24 hour period I have to 5 pushups. Last I chacked I'm up to the 150 mark, if you want to add to that, feel free. One last thought on serial fiction that has little to do with this book but it came in a dream and I figure I should write it down and share it.
Serial fiction is ultimately a revisionist exercise in writing. Issues of narrative continuity and consistency in overall tone are just a few of the elements that must be in constant balance with the publishing of each new installment. The story will inevitably change as time goes on but one now needs to edit previous events without being able to go back and alter the original text. Here we see the power of retcons, how the most recent installment contains the closest thing to an available truth, and even that what was originally written in stone can easily be erased. Future editions beyond the original searilization can make necessary changes to previous moments in the narrative so that they fit with the most current interpretation. Don't believe me? Ask your nerdiest friend why it's such a big deal that Han shot first or how putting CGI Hayden Christenson next to original Obi Wan and Yoda is a travesty.
Episode 41: Avengers Assemble and a Character's New Orientation
After a long and adventorous, but pretty draining day, I'd figure I should write a few things I've been to provide my two cents about. The first is of course the awesome Avengers movie that is breaking records all over the place. The second is the speculation over which character from the DC Universe. Let's get right into it.
I'm pretty sure you would be asking, wait that movie came out weeks ago and everyone important has already written about it, not to mention I've already seen it. To which I respond, hey that stings. I waited this long because I didn't want to ruin all the spoilers. That and I'm lazy but let's focus on the important things. First off, let's not consider Avengers as simply a congregation of Marvel heroes for an epic movie. Consider it a sequel of converging narratives within the interconnecting storylines of many characters. Each of the previous movies serves as an introduction to each of the characters and various plot points to their own complications but also of bigger problems that will require the help of all these things. Many are quick to say that Black Widow didn't have her own movie, but I remind people that her role in Iron Man 2 did pretty much work as her intro to the stage. Haweye had all of two minutes in the Thor movie, in which he aimed an arrow for a while, menacingly!, and that's it. By making him a brainwashed vilain for the first half of the movie you got the whole mysterious crazy dude that is deadly well trained. Also, he was a loner from the start, there isn't that much of an emotional connection to the character. We got all of his backstory via Black Widow and she is the only person to at least have a something of a budding romance in the film. As an aside, it was certainly refreshing to not see a romantci subplot throughout the movie.
Another character that got some interesting development was The Hulk. And by that I mean that they didn't give him a huge emotional back story and made Bruce Banner all mopey and emo about how no one understands his pain. They wanted to distance this version from the one done by Edward Norton, good but not great, and the one from a little before that that many fans pretend doesn't exist. You didn't see a Banner that was completely in conflict with himself, you just had a scientist that could turn into a raging mass of muscle, sure you had to be afraid of the transformation but Bruce was pretty cool about the whole thing. That and having Hulk smash everything was just awesome. "Puny god"! may be my new favorite line after curbstomping people with delusions of grandeur.
The movie itself is pretty awesome but only when you don't think about it too much. As a conversation with a friend of mine today revealed, if you know Joss Whedon's style, it quickly turns into a game of Trope Bingo, and you won't enjoy the movie. I'm just glad he didn't kill off Agent Hill,Robin, Colbie Smulders or Black Widow. Also, if you are a big fan of the comics and know decades worth of material and an intricate knowledge of Norse mythology then you will have some problems with the whole evil plan thing. This blog makes a really awesome analysis of the whole thing and is definitely worth the read. http://exurbe.com/?p=1368
In short, awesome movie no way they could make it had they not had the intro films for the main characters beforehand to develop their characters beforehand. It stays pretty faithful to the source material but true comic book geeks will have some issues with the film, and honestly I'd be scared if they didn't. Let's see if the next round of sequels for the indiviual heroes and a probable Avengers 2 movie against Thanos and with more schwarma.
Here's something I've been getting asked about because I have some knowledge of comics. DC has recently revealed that they are about to reveal that one of their iconic characters would now be a homosexual. Speculation about who would it be has gotten a lot of people wondering and conservative political pundits into a stupor. A lot of experts have weighed in on which character it would be so this part is going to be a quick summary plus my own thoughts and bets on the subject. First off it won't be any of the big heores like Superman or Batman. Some of you may remember that George Clooney did an interview when he played Batman that he acted the role out as if he was gay. In the immortal words of Seinfeld, not that there's anything wrong with that. Any popular enough character that goes through a change of any kind that completely alters the character will make readers go nuts and the comics industry has alienated it's core base way too many times before. Not to mention the fact that if you make Batman gay then Frederic Wertham was right and that would just be bad for comics from now until forever. Just because DC said it was iconic doesn't mean that it has to be a staple character, it means anyone that has ever been a part of the Justice League.
The most obvious choice is a weird character called Jive, from the 80s when the Justice League was in Detroit for a few years. I think his powers were basically super breakdancing abilities and maybe something with urban slang linguistic manipulation but that one doesn't come up as often. Look at his costume and you would also go for that one. But by making him too obvious you make it so that it won't be him to have some sort of shock value. I personally believe that it's going to be a second version of a well established character. So yeah, the second Green Lantern Guy Gardner or the second Robin Jason Todd are on the top of my list. As my dark horse pick I have to go with Daily Planet photographer Jimmy Olsen because I think that his hero worship of Superman is more of a mancrush, which is actually a crush. Now let me write that in a way that can get me some hits via random Google searches:
Jimmy Olsen is the new gay character in DC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Confirmed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (by no one)
FYI DC already has a pretty cool character who is homosexual. Renee Montoya, Hispanic female was a cop in Gotham City for a while, I think she showed up a few times in the 90s cartoon but might be wrong, was outed as a lesbian and fired. Last I checked she became the newest version of The Question, who is like Rorschach only that he/she doesn't actually have a face. I wonder if she's the one that's going to be doing the outing this time. Also, no matter who they reveal, a lot of geeks will be mad and a lot of people are going to say, who the hell is that person and why is this news?


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Q: Configure JMS queue destination through java code I want to use JMS for in my application. But the requirement is I can not touch JBoss, means I have to configure queue/topic destination through java.
as I have to give destination as:
Queue myQueue = (Queue) initialContext.lookup("destination");

I can configure it in jBoss's -service.xml, but I need to do it by java coding only. How can I do it.
please suggest.
Thanks.

A: Your sample line of code performs a JNDI API lookup of the previously created queue called "destination" and assigns it to a Queue object. So, you should configure that queue in JBoss environment or use default preconfigured destinations, but need to change the name (and is not an scalable solution).

A: Depends on your jboss version, but you can embed a hornetq-jms.xml that includes your queues/topics, doesn't need to be configured on the server already.  If you're looking at AS7, then you would need to configure.

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Guilin is a city in North Guangxi, China. Guilin is a scenic town and one of the best- known tourist destinations in China. There are many scenic places within short traveling distance of Guilin. These include Longsheng with its famous Longji rice terraces; the Lijiang River, a scene of which is printed on the back of ¥20 bank notes; Yangshuo, a small county downstream from Guilin; and much more. This makes Guilin an excellent base for exploring the northern end of Guangxi Province. Guilin is a beautiful city. The town center is surrounded by two rivers and four lakes and studded with sheer sided karst mountains. Outside the city center, the buildings are less well kept. The main industry in the city is tourism so the city is much cleaner than other Chinese cities. Guilin itself is like most other medium size Chinese cities, other than that it has a large number of western-style hotels, tourists and is relatively free of air pollution. Many Chinese domestic tourists also flock to this area. What makes it special is its proximity to many picturesque limestone mountains and formations.


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"Lives are in the balance": Official Opposition calls on Sask. Party government to stop delay, call in military support in Long Term Care
SASKATOON - Official Opposition Leader Ryan Meili and Seniors' Critic Matt Love called on the Sask. Party government to reverse course and call the federal government to ensure military personnel can be on hand to support the effort to save lives in Saskatchewan's long-term care system.
"At every step, this government has delayed real action that could help stop the spread of COVID-19 in our province, and crucial in our long-term care homes," said Meili. "That has to stop. Lives are in the balance. There can be no more delay."
Last week the Sask. Party government stated that they would not be calling the federal government to bring in military assistance. At that time 12 residents of Parkside Extendicare in Regina had passed away. That number has now tragically climbed to 18.
"We know that the staff in Long Term Care are overwhelmed. And we know that increasing community transmission of COVID-19 makes outbreaks in long-term care facilities more likely," said Love. "The sad reality is that this government failed to act weeks ago when it could have got a handle on the spread of the pandemic. Let's not make the same mistake again. Mr. Premier: get on the phone now and bring in all the support we can get on the ground, now."
Love noted that the government is waiting until later this week - Thursday, December 17 - to announce what measures Saskatchewan families can expect to see in the weeks ahead to address the pandemic. "Premier Moe and the Sask. Party government have waited too long already. Despite overwhelmed health care services, they seem satisfied to point to poll numbers instead of taking needed action. Saskatchewan families deserve better."
New Democrats continue to call for other key measures in Long Term Care, including:
Hire the 300 Continuing Care Aides announced in the Throne Speech now, instead of waiting until Spring 2021
Introduce a standard of no more than two residents per room
Undertake in-person inspections at every long-term care facility with an outbreak and make the results of those inspections public.


6 PERSON MINIMUM FOR THE TRIP. IF WE NEED TO CANCEL WE WILL GIVE 24HR NOTICE AND FULLY REFUND ANY PAYMENTS MADE. WE RUN A TIGHT SCHEDULE AND WILL START AND LEAVE WITHOUT YOU WITH NO REFUNDS ON BEING LATE. NO WANDERING OFF FROM THE TOUR WE WILL LEAVE YOU WITH NO RETURN PICK-UP AND NO REFUNDS, WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO CANCEL YOUR TRIP AT ANYTIME WITH NO REFUND IF YOU GET OUT OF HAND AND SAFETY IS THREATEN.BREWERIES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE. TOURS OF THE FACILITIES ARE AT THE DISCRETION OF THE STAFF BASED ON HOW BUSY THE BREWERY IS. SOMETIMES PRIVATE PARTIES RENT OUT THE BREWERY OR MOTHER NATURE MAY TRY TO DISRUPT THE TRIP...BUT HAVE NO FEAR....WE WILL ALWAYS HAVE 3 STOPS. YOU CAN BRING YOUR OWN DRINKS ON THE BUS. WE ARE UP-FRONT ON WHAT WE OFFER....WE DO NOT OFFER UNLIMITED DRINKS, SO PLEASE BE READY TO SUPPORT OUR BREWERIES.


According to analytics prices for realty located close to green areas and parks are becoming more and more expensive day by day. Public parks in Moscow bedroom communities Moscow authorities has improved almost all the public parks for the Day of Moscow traditionally celebrated on the first Saturday of September.
The parks of North, West, Northwest and East administrative areas were improved by Moscow authorities and investors. More than 1 billion RUR was spent for green areas improvement in Moscow.
Moscow centre dwellers traditionally are short of parks and recreation green areas. Thus developers embarked on working out of premium-class projects located on private green areas. According to Contact Real Estate agency there are very few residential developments located on park areas because of high-rise development tendencies.
One of the most well-known projects on private green areas is 'Usadba Trubetskikh' in Khamovniki area. One square meter of property costs here more than 45 thousand USD. Thus the prices in this development are higher than in the best apartments of Ostozhenka.
For instance apartments close to parks and squares in Moscow centre costs 15% more than in analogues apartments without immediate proximity to green area. Windows facing green areas add 10% to the price of a property.
For the time being developers make for well-to-do Muscovites coming back to Moscow from the countryside because of heavy traffic. The goal of developers is creating of premium-class projects providing comfortable natural conditions of Moscow-off residences. Knightsbridge Private Park will be constructed by "Restavratsii N" developer in Khamovniki area on the lot of 2.9 hectare on the park zone in classic perfectionism English style.


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The new permanent exhibition of the Collection of Classical Antiquities presents the ancient classical tradition, focusing on the cultures of ancient Greece, Etruria, and Rome in the context of the entire Mediterranean world. The ancient cultures are presented in three parts from three different perspectives.
Hellas – Italy – Rome. Three traditions in the art of ancient Europe
This room brings to life the three most important traditions of Mediterranean art in classical antiquity. Although the ancient languages, through most of their history, lacked a specific expression similar to the modern concept of art, and the objects displayed here were mostly intended for everyday use, they later came to be regarded as works of art. Subsequent periods were in constant dialogue with antiquity, sometimes regarding ancient works as the paragon of perfection, at other times dismissing them as representatives of an outdated tradition.
The ancient Mediterranean: a union of cultures
This part of the exhibition highlights characteristic features of the cultures of the ancient Mediterranean in geographical, historical, and thematic arrangements. An overview is also provided of the history of two important genres: Greek figural vase painting and Roman portraits. These examples outline one of the fundamental characteristics of classical antiquity: the openness, or willingness to welcome and engage with other cultures. This connectivity is one of the most important legacies of these cultures in our own time.
"Enter, for here too are gods." Eros – Dionysos – Thanatos
Eros, Dionysos, and Thanatos are gods whose presence we experience in an elemental way – just like the people of antiquity. The objects on display illustrate aspects of the intellectual heritage of classical antiquity that may have a relevant message today. The starting point is provided by Greek gods and concepts, but the exhibited works of art do not appear in chronological order, or according to cultures. The thematic arrangement emphasises that the ancient cultures of the Mediterranean evolved into a common tradition – a fundamental characteristic of classical antiquity that we too are well aware of.
The material from the Collection of Classical Antiquities is complemented by works of art on loan from other museums. The dialogue between cultures is also attested by "forgeries" that appear among the ancient objects as unique reinterpretations of ancient models.
The exhibition is intended for browsing rather than for continuous reading from the beginning to the very end. We do not offer an idealised picture of antiquity. Visitors will perhaps ask: "How could one live like that?"; at other times, they may feel a sense of astonishment that it was indeed possible to live that way. It is a decisive feature of ancient tradition that its message may be valid and relevant beyond antiquity – studying ancient cultures can lead us towards better knowledge of ourselves and our own culture.
Cycladic Figure
Lucanian red-figure nestoris
Statue of a Girl ("The Budapest Dancer")
Funerary Stele of a Palmyrean Couple
Opening hours: Tuesday – Sunday 10:00 am – 5:45 pm
Ticket: HUF 2,800
Highlights, curiosities
Base of an Etruscan funerary monument
The four sides of the base feature scenes of funeral games: wrestling and boxing, athletics and chariot races. Besides the contestants, there are also referees, scribes and musicians. The sporting events are complemented by a show of acrobatics. Sport and circus thus share common roots here, both having evolved from funerary cult. Two scenes depict Phersu, the bearded Etruscan demon, who may have incited competitors to bloody combat.
The Grimani jug
One of the most important pieces of the collection, this bronze jug once belonged to the patrician Grimani family in Venice. The chief adornments of the vessel are two mythical creatures. Silenos, a follower of Dionysos, sits on the edge of the spout, with drinking horns in his hands. At the base of the handle is a siren. Sirens awaited those entering the underworld, alleviating the bitterness of death with the beauty of their song. The imagery of the vase, which was probably intended for deposition in a grave, thus connects Dionysos and Thanatos, the spheres of ecstasy and death.
Orpheus mosaic from Africa
Orpheus' most famous deed was his descent to the underworld to save his wife, Eurydice. Enchanted by his singing and lyre playing, the god of the underworld agreed to release Eurydice. Orpheus' music even tamed the wild beasts. Orpheus surrounded by animals turning towards him was a theme frequently used in ancient Roman mosaic art. The Budapest mosaic, once possibly decorating the floor of a villa, must have also originally occupied the middle part of a large composition depicting this scene.
Museum shop selection
Antique Greek vase coaster set
Defining Beauty: the Body in Ancient Greek
Pot holder with Antique Greek vase pattern
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Objective: To compare patients' and providers' views on contributors to 30-day hospital readmissions.Design: Analysis of a qualitative interview survey between 18 May-30 June 2015.Setting: Interviews were conducted during the 30-day readmission hospitalisation at a single tertiary care academic hospital.Participants: We conducted 178 interviews of readmitted patients.Measures: We queried opinions of what factors patients believed contributed to their rehospitalisation and compared this with the perspective of the index admission provider. The primary outcome was the view that the readmission was preventable. A review by a RN (nurse) case manager also provided an assessment based on patient report, provider report and chart review.Results: Patients were more likely to view a readmission as preventable compared with physicians (p<0.0001). Patients identified system issues (defined as factors controlled by the hospital discharge process) as contributors to their readmission in 58% (103/178) of cases while providers identified system issues as the contributor to a patients' readmission in 2% (2/101) of cases. Patients with poor functional status were more likely to feel the cause of their readmission was due to system issues than patients with better functional status (p=0.03). A RN case manager review determined that in 48% (86/178) of cases the system had some amount of contribution to a patient's readmission. There was no significant difference in belief that the readmission was preventable between the RN case manager and the patient (p=0.47).Conclusions: Readmitted patients often feel that the hospital system contributed to their readmission. Providers did not recognise patient and RN case manager identified issues as contributors to hospital readmissions.
INTRODUCTION: Reducing long length of stay (LLOS, or inpatient stays lasting over 30 days) is an important way for hospitals to improve cost efficiency, bed availability and health outcomes. Discharge delays can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars per patient, and LLOS represents a burden on bed availability for other potential patients. However, most research studies investigating discharge barriers are not LLOS-specific. Of those that do, nearly all are limited by further patient subpopulation focus or small sample size. To our knowledge, our study is the first to describe LLOS discharge barriers in an entire Department of Medicine.METHODS: We conducted a chart review of 172 LLOS patients in the Department of Medicine at an academic tertiary care hospital and quantified the most frequent causes of delay as well as factors causing the greatest amount of delay time. We also interviewed healthcare staff for their perceptions on barriers to discharge.RESULTS: Discharge site coordination was the most frequent cause of delay, affecting 56% of patients and accounting for 80% of total non-medical postponement days. Goals of care issues and establishment of follow-up care were the next most frequent contributors to delay.CONCLUSION: Together with perspectives from interviewed staff, these results highlight multiple different areas of opportunity for reducing LLOS and maximising the care capacity of inpatient hospitals.
Interventions guiding appropriate telemetry utilization have successfully reduced use at many hospitals, but few studies have examined their possible adverse outcomes. The authors conducted a successful intervention to reduce telemetry use in 2013 on a hospitalist service using educational modules, routine review, and financial incentives. The association of reduced telemetry use with the incidence of rapid response team (RRT) and code activations was assessed in a retrospective cohort study of 210 patients who experienced a total of 233 RRT and code events on the inpatient internal medicine services from January 2012 through March 2015 at a tertiary care center. The incidence of adverse events for the hospitalist service was not significantly different during the intervention and postintervention period as compared to the preintervention period. Reducing inappropriate telemetry use was not associated with an increase in the incidence rates of RRT and code events.
Resident work hour restrictions have led to the creation of the 'night float' to care for the patients of multiple primary teams after hours. These residents are often inundated with acute issues in the numerous patients they cover and are less able to address non-urgent issues that arise at night. Further, non-urgent pages may contribute to physician alarm fatigue and negatively impact patient outcomes.To delineate the burden of non-urgent paging at night and propose solutions.We performed a resident review and categorisation of 1820 pages to night floats between September 2014 and December 2014. Both attending and nursing review of 10% of pages was done and compared.Of reviewed pages, 62.1% were urgent and 27.7% were non-urgent. Attending review of random page samples correlated well with resident review. Common reasons for non-urgent pages were non-urgent patient status updates, low-priority order requests and non-critical lab values.A significant number of non-urgent pages are sent at night. These pages likely distract from acute issues that arise at night and place an unnecessary burden on night floats. Both behavioural and systemic adjustments are needed to address this issue. Possible interventions include integrating low-priority messaging into the electronic health record system and use of charge nurses to help determine urgency of issues and batch non-urgent pages.
Problem-based charting (PBC) is a method for clinician documentation in commercially available electronic medical record systems that integrates note writing and problem list management. We report the effect of PBC on problem list utilization and accuracy at an academic intensive care unit (ICU).An interrupted time series design was used to assess the effect of PBC on problem list utilization, which is defined as the number of new problems added to the problem list by clinicians per patient encounter, and of problem list accuracy, which was determined by calculating the recall and precision of the problem list in capturing 5 common ICU diagnoses.In total, 3650 and 4344 patient records were identified before and after PBC implementation at Stanford Hospital. An increase of 2.18 problems (>50% increase) in the mean number of new problems added to the problem list per patient encounter can be attributed to the initiation of PBC. There was a significant increase in recall attributed to the initiation of PBC for sepsis (β = 0.45, P < .001) and acute renal failure (β = 0.2, P = .007), but not for acute respiratory failure, pneumonia, or venous thromboembolism.The problem list is an underutilized component of the electronic medical record that can be a source of clinician-structured data representing the patient's clinical condition in real time. PBC is a readily available tool that can integrate problem list management into physician workflow.PBC improved problem list utilization and accuracy at an academic ICU.
We validate a machine learning-based sepsis-prediction algorithm (InSight) for the detection and prediction of three sepsis-related gold standards, using only six vital signs. We evaluate robustness to missing data, customisation to site-specific data using transfer learning and generalisability to new settings.A machine-learning algorithm with gradient tree boosting. Features for prediction were created from combinations of six vital sign measurements and their changes over time.A mixed-ward retrospective dataset from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center (San Francisco, California, USA) as the primary source, an intensive care unit dataset from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (Boston, Massachusetts, USA) as a transfer-learning source and four additional institutions' datasets to evaluate generalisability.684 443 total encounters, with 90 353 encounters from June 2011 to March 2016 at UCSF.None.Area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve for detection and prediction of sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock.For detection of sepsis and severe sepsis, InSight achieves an AUROC curve of 0.92 (95% CI 0.90 to 0.93) and 0.87 (95% CI 0.86 to 0.88), respectively. Four hours before onset, InSight predicts septic shock with an AUROC of 0.96 (95% CI 0.94 to 0.98) and severe sepsis with an AUROC of 0.85 (95% CI 0.79 to 0.91).InSight outperforms existing sepsis scoring systems in identifying and predicting sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock. This is the first sepsis screening system to exceed an AUROC of 0.90 using only vital sign inputs. InSight is robust to missing data, can be customised to novel hospital data using a small fraction of site data and retains strong discrimination across all institutions.
Background: The majority of adverse events in healthcare involve communication breakdown. Physician-to-physician handoffs are particularly prone to communication errors, yet have been shown to be more complete when systematised according to a standardised bundle. Interventions that improve thoroughness of handoffs have not been widely studied.Aim: To measure the effect of an electronic medical record (EMR)-based handoff tool on handoff completeness.Intervention: This EMR-based handoff tool included a radio button prompting users to classify patients as stable, a 'watcher' or unstable. It automatically pulled in EMR data on the patient's 24-hour vitals, common lab tests and code status. Finally, it provided text boxes labelled 'Active Issues', 'Action List (To-Dos)' and 'If/Then' to fill in.Implementation and evaluation: Written handoffs from general and specialty (haematology, oncology, cardiology) Internal Medicine resident-run inpatient wards were evaluated on a randomly chosen representative sample of days in April and May 2015 at Stanford University Medical Center, focusing on a predefined set of content elements. The intervention was then implemented in June 2015 with postintervention data collected in an identical fashion in August to September 2016.Results: Handoff completeness improved significantly (p<0.0001). Improvement in inclusion of illness severity was notable for its magnitude and its importance in establishing a consistent mental model of a patient. Elements that automatically pulled in data and those prompting users to actively fill in data both improved.Conclusion: A simple EMR-based handoff tool providing a mix of frameworks for completion and automatic pull-in of objective data improved handoff completeness. This suggests that EMR-based interventions may be effective at improving handoffs, possibly leading to fewer medical errors and better patient care.
Reducing delays for patients who are safe to be discharged is important for minimising complications, managing costs and improving quality. Barriers to discharge include placement, multispecialty coordination of care and ineffective communication. There are a few recent studies that describe barriers from the perspective of all members of the multidisciplinary team.To identify the barriers to discharge for patients from our medicine service who had a discharge delay of over 24 hours.We developed and implemented a biweekly survey that was reviewed with attending physicians on each of the five medicine services to identify patients with an unnecessary delay. Separately, we conducted interviews with staff members involved in the discharge process to identify common barriers they observed on the wards.Over the study period from 28 October to 22 November 2013, out of 259 total discharges, 87 patients had a delay of over 24 hours (33.6%) and experienced a total of 181 barriers. The top barriers from the survey included patient readiness, prolonged wait times for procedures or results, consult recommendations and facility placement. A total of 20 interviews were conducted, from which the top barriers included communication both between staff members and with the patient, timely notification of discharge and lack of discharge standardisation.There are a number of frequent barriers to discharge encountered in our hospital that may be avoidable with planning, effective communication methods, more timely preparation and tools to standardise the discharge process.
To provide an update to "Surviving Sepsis Campaign Guidelines for Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock: 2012."A consensus committee of 55 international experts representing 25 international organizations was convened. Nominal groups were assembled at key international meetings (for those committee members attending the conference). A formal conflict-of-interest (COI) policy was developed at the onset of the process and enforced throughout. A stand-alone meeting was held for all panel members in December 2015. Teleconferences and electronic-based discussion among subgroups and among the entire committee served as an integral part of the development.The panel consisted of five sections: hemodynamics, infection, adjunctive therapies, metabolic, and ventilation. Population, intervention, comparison, and outcomes (PICO) questions were reviewed and updated as needed, and evidence profiles were generated. Each subgroup generated a list of questions, searched for best available evidence, and then followed the principles of the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system to assess the quality of evidence from high to very low, and to formulate recommendations as strong or weak, or best practice statement when applicable.The Surviving Sepsis Guideline panel provided 93 statements on early management and resuscitation of patients with sepsis or septic shock. Overall, 32 were strong recommendations, 39 were weak recommendations, and 18 were best-practice statements. No recommendation was provided for four questions.Substantial agreement exists among a large cohort of international experts regarding many strong recommendations for the best care of patients with sepsis. Although a significant number of aspects of care have relatively weak support, evidence-based recommendations regarding the acute management of sepsis and septic shock are the foundation of improved outcomes for these critically ill patients with high mortality.
To provide an update to "Surviving Sepsis Campaign Guidelines for Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock: 2012".A consensus committee of 55 international experts representing 25 international organizations was convened. Nominal groups were assembled at key international meetings (for those committee members attending the conference). A formal conflict-of-interest (COI) policy was developed at the onset of the process and enforced throughout. A stand-alone meeting was held for all panel members in December 2015. Teleconferences and electronic-based discussion among subgroups and among the entire committee served as an integral part of the development.The panel consisted of five sections: hemodynamics, infection, adjunctive therapies, metabolic, and ventilation. Population, intervention, comparison, and outcomes (PICO) questions were reviewed and updated as needed, and evidence profiles were generated. Each subgroup generated a list of questions, searched for best available evidence, and then followed the principles of the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system to assess the quality of evidence from high to very low, and to formulate recommendations as strong or weak, or best practice statement when applicable.The Surviving Sepsis Guideline panel provided 93 statements on early management and resuscitation of patients with sepsis or septic shock. Overall, 32 were strong recommendations, 39 were weak recommendations, and 18 were best-practice statements. No recommendation was provided for four questions.Substantial agreement exists among a large cohort of international experts regarding many strong recommendations for the best care of patients with sepsis. Although a significant number of aspects of care have relatively weak support, evidence-based recommendations regarding the acute management of sepsis and septic shock are the foundation of improved outcomes for these critically ill patients with high mortality.
Sepsis is one of the leading causes of mortality in hospitalized patients. Despite this fact, a reliable means of predicting sepsis onset remains elusive. Early and accurate sepsis onset predictions could allow more aggressive and targeted therapy while maintaining antimicrobial stewardship. Existing detection methods suffer from low performance and often require time-consuming laboratory test results.To study and validate a sepsis prediction method, InSight, for the new Sepsis-3 definitions in retrospective data, make predictions using a minimal set of variables from within the electronic health record data, compare the performance of this approach with existing scoring systems, and investigate the effects of data sparsity on InSight performance.We apply InSight, a machine learning classification system that uses multivariable combinations of easily obtained patient data (vitals, peripheral capillary oxygen saturation, Glasgow Coma Score, and age), to predict sepsis using the retrospective Multiparameter Intelligent Monitoring in Intensive Care (MIMIC)-III dataset, restricted to intensive care unit (ICU) patients aged 15 years or more. Following the Sepsis-3 definitions of the sepsis syndrome, we compare the classification performance of InSight versus quick sequential organ failure assessment (qSOFA), modified early warning score (MEWS), systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), simplified acute physiology score (SAPS) II, and sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) to determine whether or not patients will become septic at a fixed period of time before onset. We also test the robustness of the InSight system to random deletion of individual input observations.In a test dataset with 11.3% sepsis prevalence, InSight produced superior classification performance compared with the alternative scores as measured by area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROC) and area under precision-recall curves (APR). In detection of sepsis onset, InSight attains AUROC = 0.880 (SD 0.006) at onset time and APR = 0.595 (SD 0.016), both of which are superior to the performance attained by SIRS (AUROC: 0.609; APR: 0.160), qSOFA (AUROC: 0.772; APR: 0.277), and MEWS (AUROC: 0.803; APR: 0.327) computed concurrently, as well as SAPS II (AUROC: 0.700; APR: 0.225) and SOFA (AUROC: 0.725; APR: 0.284) computed at admission (P<.001 for all comparisons). Similar results are observed for 1-4 hours preceding sepsis onset. In experiments where approximately 60% of input data are deleted at random, InSight attains an AUROC of 0.781 (SD 0.013) and APR of 0.401 (SD 0.015) at sepsis onset time. Even with 60% of data missing, InSight remains superior to the corresponding SIRS scores (AUROC and APR, P<.001), qSOFA scores (P=.0095; P<.001) and superior to SOFA and SAPS II computed at admission (AUROC and APR, P<.001), where all of these comparison scores (except InSight) are computed without data deletion.Despite using little more than vitals, InSight is an effective tool for predicting sepsis onset and performs well even with randomly missing data.
We measured medical students' and resident trainees' hand hygiene behaviour, knowledge and attitudes in order to identify important predictors of hand hygiene behaviour in this population.An anonymous, web-based questionnaire was distributed to medical students and residents at Stanford University School of Medicine in August of 2012. The questionnaire included questions regarding participants' behaviour, knowledge, attitude and experiences about hand hygiene. Behaviour, knowledge and attitude indices were scaled from 0 to 1, with 1 representing superior responses. Using multivariate regression, we identified positive and negative predictors of superior hand hygiene behaviour. We investigated effectiveness of interventions, barriers and comfort reminding others.280 participants (111 students and 169 residents) completed the questionnaire (response rate 27.8%). Residents and medical students reported hand hygiene behaviour compliance of 0.45 and 0.55, respectively (p=0.02). Resident and medical student knowledge was 0.80 and 0.73, respectively (p=0.001). The attitude index for residents was 0.56 and 0.55 for medical students. Regression analysis identified experiences as predictors of hand hygiene behaviour (both positive and negative influence). Knowledge was not a significant predictor of behaviour, but a working gel dispenser and observing attending physicians with good hand hygiene practices were reported by both groups as the most effective strategy in influencing trainees.Medical students and residents have similar attitudes about hand hygiene, but differ in their level of knowledge and compliance. Concerns about hierarchy may have a significant negative impact on hand hygiene advocacy.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has adopted iatrogenic pneumothorax (IAP) as a Patient Safety Indicator. In 2006, in response to a low performance ranking for IAP rate from the University Healthsystem Consortium (UHC), the authors established a multidisciplinary team to reduce our institution's IAP rate. Root-cause analysis found that subclavian insertion of central venous catheterization (CVC) was the most common procedure associated with IAP OBJECTIVE: Our short-term goal was a 50% reduction of both CVC-associated and all-cause IAP rates within 18 months, with long-term goals of sustained reduction.Observational study.Academic tertiary care hospital.Consecutive inpatients from 2006 to 2014.Our multifaceted intervention included: (1) clinical and documentation standards based on evidence, (2) cognitive aids, (3) simulation training, (4) purchase and deployment of ultrasound equipment, and (5) feedback to clinical services.CVC-associated IAP, all-cause IAP rate.We achieved both a short-term (years 2006 to 2008) and long-term (years 2006 to 2008-2014) reduction in our CVC-associated and all-cause IAP rates. Our short-term reduction in our CVC-associated IAP was 53% (P = 0.088), and our long-term reduction was 85% (P < 0.0001). Our short-term reduction in the all-cause IAP rate was 26% (P < 0.0001), and our long-term reduction was 61% (P < 0.0001).A multidisciplinary team, focused on evidence, patient safety, and standardization, can use a set of multifaceted interventions to sustainably improve patient outcomes for several years after implementation. Our hospital was in the highest performance UHC quartile for all-cause IAP in 2012 to 2014. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2015. © 2015 Society of Hospital Medicine.
Achieving safe transitions of care at hospital discharge requires accurate and timely communication. Both the presence of and follow-up plan for diagnostic studies that are pending at hospital discharge are expected to be accurately conveyed during these transitions, but this remains a challenge.To determine the prevalence, characteristics, and communication of studies pending at hospital discharge before and after the implementation of an electronic medical record (EMR) tool that automatically generates a list of pending studies.Pre-post analysis.260 consecutive patients discharged from inpatient general medicine services from July to August 2013.Development of an EMR-based tool that automatically generates a list of studies pending at discharge.The main outcomes were prevalence and characteristics of pending studies and communication of studies pending at hospital discharge. We also surveyed internal medicine house staff on their attitudes about communication of pending studies.Pre-intervention, 70 % of patients had at least one pending study at discharge, but only 18 % of these were communicated in the discharge summary. Most studies were microbiology cultures (68 %), laboratory studies (16 %), or microbiology serologies (10 %). The majority of study results were ultimately normal (83 %), but 9 % were newly abnormal. Post-intervention, communication of studies pending increased to 43 % (p < 0.001).Most patients are discharged from the hospital with pending studies, but in usual practice, the presence of these studies has rarely been communicated to outpatient providers in the discharge summary. Communication significantly increased with the implementation of an EMR-based tool that automatically generated a list of pending studies from the EMR and allowed users to import this list into the discharge summary. This is the first study to our knowledge to introduce an automated EMR-based tool to communicate pending studies.
Use of a screening tool as a decision support mechanism for early detection of sepsis has been widely advocated, yet studies validating tool performance are scarce, especially in non-intensive care unit settings.For this pilot study we prospectively screened consecutive patients admitted to a medical/surgical intermediate care unit at an academic medical center over a 1-month period and retrospectively analyzed their clinical data. Patients were screened with a 3-tiered, paper-based, nurse-driven sepsis assessment tool every 8 hours. For patients screening positive for sepsis or severe sepsis, the primary treatment team was notified and the team's clinical actions were recorded. Results of the screening test were then compared to patient International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes for sepsis, severe sepsis, and septic shock identified during the study time period, and performance of the screening test was assessed.A total of 2143 screening tests were completed in 245 patients (169 surgical, 76 medical). ICD-9 codes confirmed sepsis incidence was 9%. Of the 39 patients who screened positive, 51% were positive for sepsis, and 49% screened positive for severe sepsis. Screening tool sensitivity and specificity were 95% and 92%, respectively. Negative predictive value was 99% and positive predictive value was 54%. Overall test accuracy was 92%. There was no statistically significant difference in tool performance between medical and surgical patients.A simple screening tool for sepsis utilized as part of nursing assessment may be a useful way of identifying early sepsis in both medical and surgical patients in an intermediate care unit setting. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2014. © 2014 Society of Hospital Medicine.
Best practice alerts (BPAs) provide clinical decision support (CDS) at the point of care to reduce unnecessary blood product transfusions, yet substantial transfusions continue outside of recommended guidelines.To understand why providers order blood transfusions outside of recommended guidelines despite interruptive alerts.Retrospective review.Tertiary care hospital.Inpatient healthcare providers.Provider-BPA interaction data were collected from January 2011 to August 2012 from the hospital electronic medical record.Provider (free-text) responses to blood transfusion BPA prompts were independently reviewed and categorized by 2 licensed physicians, with agreement assessed by χ(2) analysis and kappa scoring.Rationale for overriding blood transfusion BPAs was highly diverse, acute bleeding being the most common (>34%), followed by protocolized behaviors on specialty services (up to 26%), to "symptomatic" anemia (11%-12%). Many providers transfused in anticipation of surgical or procedural intervention (10%-15%) or imminent hospital discharge (2%-5%). Resident physicians represented the majority (55%) of providers interacting with BPAs.Providers interacting with BPAs (primarily residents and midlevel providers) often do not have the negotiating power to change ordering behavior. Protocolized behaviors, unlikely to be influenced by BPAs, are among the most commonly cited reasons for transfusing outside of guidelines. Symptomatic anemia is a common, albeit subjective, indication cited for blood transfusion. With a wide swath of individually uncommon rationales for transfusion behavior, secondary use of electronic medical record databases and integrated CDS tools are important to efficiently analyze common practice behaviors. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2014. © 2014 The Authors Journal of Hospital Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society of Hospital Medicine.
Checklists may help reduce discharge errors; however, current paper checklists have limited functionality. In 2013 a best-practice discharge checklist using the electronic health record (EHR) was developed and evaluated at Stanford University Medical Center (Stanford, California) in a cluster randomized trial to evaluate its usage, user satisfaction, and impact on physicians' work flow.The study was divided into four phases.In Phase I, on the survey (N = 76), most of the participants (54.0%) reported using memory to remember discharge tasks. On a 0-100 scale, perception of checklists as being useful was strong (mean, 66.4; standard deviation [SD], 21.2), as was interest in EHR checklists (64.5, 26.6). In Phase II, the checklist consisted of 15 tasks categorized by admission, hospitalization, and discharge-planning. In Phase III, the checklist was implemented as an EHR "smart-phrase" allowing for automatic insertion. In Phase IV, in a trial with 60 participating physicians, 23 EHR checklist users reported higher usage than 12 paper users (28.5 versus 7.67, p = .019), as well as higher checklist integration with work flow (22.6 versus 1.67, p = .014), usefulness of checklist (33.7 versus. 8.92, p = .041), discharge confidence (30.8 versus 5.00, p = .029), and discharge efficiency (25.5 versus 6.67, p = .056). Increasing EHR checklist use was correlated with usefulness ( r = .85, p < .001), confidence (r = .81, p < .001), and efficiency (r = .87, p < .001).The EHR checklist reminded physicians to complete discharge tasks, improved confidence, and increased process efficiency. This is the first study to show that medicine residents use "memory" as the most common method for remembering discharge tasks. These data reinforce the need for a formalized tool, such as a checklist, that residents can rely on to complete important discharge tasks.
Blood transfusion has been cited as one of the five most overutilized therapeutic procedures in the United States. We assessed the impact of clinical decision support at computerized physician order entry and education on red blood cell (RBC) transfusions and clinical patient outcomes at our institution.Clinical patient outcomes and RBC transfusions were assessed before and after implementation of a best practice alert triggered for transfusions when the hemoglobin level was higher than 7 g/dL for all inpatient discharges from January 2008 through December 2013. Retrospective clinical and laboratory data related to RBC transfusions were extracted: case-mix complexity, patient discharges and selected surgical volumes, and patient outcomes (mortality, 30-day readmissions, length of stay).There was a significant improvement in RBC utilization as assessed by RBC units transfused per 100 patient-days-at-risk. Concurrently, hospital-wide clinical patient outcomes showed improvement (mortality, p = 0.034; length of stay, p = 0.003) or remained stable (30-day readmission rates, p = 0.909). Outcome improvements were even more pronounced in patients who received blood transfusions, with decreased mortality rate (55.2 to 33.0, p < 0.001), length of stay (mean, 10.1 to 6.2 days, p < 0.001), and 30-day readmission rate (136.9 to 85.0, p < 0.001). The mean number of units transfused per patient also declined (3.6 to 2.7, p < 0.001). Acquisition costs of RBC units per 1000 patient discharges decreased from $283,130 in 2009 to $205,050 in 2013 with total estimated savings of $6.4 million and likely far greater impact on total transfusion-related costs.Improved blood utilization is associated with improved clinical patient outcomes.
Though current hospital paging systems are neither efficient (callbacks disrupt workflow), nor secure (pagers are not Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act [HIPAA]-compliant), they are routinely used to communicate patient information. Smartphone-based text messaging is a potentially more convenient and efficient mobile alternative; however, commercial cellular networks are also not secure.To determine if augmenting one-way pagers with Medigram, a secure, HIPAA-compliant group messaging (HCGM) application for smartphones, could improve hospital team communication.Eight-week prospective, cluster-randomized, controlled trialStanford HospitalThree inpatient medicine teams used the HCGM application in addition to paging, while two inpatient medicine teams used paging only for intra-team communication.Baseline and post-study surveys were collected from 22 control and 41 HCGM team members.When compared with paging, HCGM was rated significantly (P < 0.05) more effective in: (1) allowing users to communicate thoughts clearly (P = 0.010) and efficiently (P = 0.009) and (2) integrating into workflow during rounds (P = 0.018) and patient discharge (P = 0.012). Overall satisfaction with HCGM was significantly higher (P = 0.003). 85% of HCGM team respondents said they would recommend using an HCGM system on the wards.Smartphone-based, HIPAA-compliant group messaging applications improve provider perception of in-hospital communication, while providing the information security that paging and commercial cellular networks do not. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2014;9:573-578. © 2014 The Authors Journal of Hospital Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society of Hospital Medicine.
We analyzed blood utilization at Stanford Hospital and Clinics after implementing real-time clinical decision support (CDS) and best practice alerts (BPAs) into physician order entry (POE) for blood transfusions.A clinical effectiveness (CE) team developed consensus with a suggested transfusion threshold of a hemoglobin (Hb) level of 7 g/dL, or 8 g/dL for patients with acute coronary syndromes. The CDS was implemented in July 2010 and consisted of an interruptive BPA at POE, a link to relevant literature, and an "acknowledgment reason" for the blood order.The percentage of blood ordered for patients whose most recent Hb level exceeded 8 g/dL ranged at baseline from 57% to 66%; from the education intervention by the CE team August 2009 to July 2010, the percentage decreased to a range of 52% to 56% (p = 0.01); and after implementation of CDS and BPA, by end of December 2010 the percentage of patients transfused outside the guidelines decreased to 35% (p = 0.02) and has subsequently remained below 30%. For the most recent interval, only 27% (767 of 2890) of transfusions occurred in patients outside guidelines. Comparing 2009 to 2012, despite an increase in annual case mix index from 1.952 to 2.026, total red blood cell (RBC) transfusions decreased by 7186 units, or 24%. The estimated net savings for RBC units (at $225/unit) in purchase costs for 2012 compared to 2009 was $1,616,750.Real-time CDS has significantly improved blood utilization. This system of concurrent review can be used by health care institutions, quality departments, and transfusion services to reduce blood transfusions.
Patient whiteboards facilitate communication between patients and hospital providers, but little is known about their impact on patient satisfaction and awareness. Our objectives were to: measure the impact in improving patients' understanding of and satisfaction with care; understand barriers for their use by physicians and how these could be overcome; and explore their impact on staff and patients' families.In 2012, we conducted a 3-week pilot of multidisciplinary whiteboard use with 104 inpatients on the general medicine service at Stanford University Medical Center. A brief, inperson survey was conducted with two groups: (1) 56 patients on two inpatient units with whiteboards and (2) 48 patients on two inpatient units without whiteboards. Questions included understanding of: physician name, goals of care, discharge date and satisfaction with care. We surveyed 25 internal medicine residents regarding challenges of whiteboard use, along with physical therapists, occupational therapists, case managers, consulting physicians and patients' family members (n=40).The use of whiteboards significantly increased the proportion of patients who knew: their physician (p≤=0.0001), goals for admission (p≤=0.0016), their estimated discharge date (p≤=0.049) and improved satisfaction with the hospital stay overall (p≤=0.0242). Physicians, ancillary staff and patient families all found the whiteboards to be helpful. In response, residents were also more likely to integrate whiteboard use into their daily work flow.Inpatient whiteboards help physicians and ancillary staff with communication, improve patients' awareness of their care team, admission plans and duration of admission, and significantly improve patient overall satisfaction.
To increase evidence-based medicine (EBM) instruction within the confines of reduced resident work hours.In 2001-02, the authors designed and implemented an EBM curriculum for residents on an inpatient medicine service at Stanford University Medical Center. Thirty-six residents were assigned the hospitalist rotation in its pilot year. Attendings introduced EBM concepts and Internet resources. During daily rounds, housestaff presented patient-based EBM literature search results. After the rotation, residents were given a questionnaire on which they were asked to rate the impact of the curriculum on their understanding of 20 EBM terms or practice skills (1 = no effect to 5 = strong effect).Twenty-three residents (64%) completed the questionnaire. The results were very positive with average effect of more than 4 (somewhat strong effect/impact) for 16 of the 20 questions. High-speed Internet access and EBM Web resources were critical to efficient delivery of the curriculum during inpatient care.The pilot curriculum successfully introduced the practice of EBM during active inpatient care without requiring additional hours from housestaff schedules. To further evaluate and expand this project, EBM skills will be tested before and after the rotation, and faculty development will allow consistent delivery in additional clinical settings.
Studies investigating the erosion mechanism of the newly developed poly (fatty acid dimer: sebacic acid) polyanhydride (p:[FAD:SA]) are described. The overall erosion of different monomer compositions of p(FAD:SA) copolymers was examined to determine whether and to what extent copolymer properties affected polymer erosion. Increasing the hydrophobic monomer (FAD) content up to 50 wt% in the copolymer resulted in longer erosion, whereas further increases up to 70 wt% decreased the erosion period. Polymer crystallinity depended on copolymer FAD content. Copolymer degradation was studied by examining anhydride bond hydrolysis using infrared spectroscopy. Much faster hydrolysis was found in p(FAD:SA) 70:30 compared with more crystalline copolymers of higher SA content. Light microscopy indicates the presence of an erosion zone, a distinct area where mass loss occurs. This erosion zone moves from the outside toward the interior of the polymer matrix. It plays an important role in erosion because any water or monomer must diffuse through this eroded layer.


text:
Q: Difficulty to create depth cloud from iphone 11 pro depth map in python I am trying to understand how to get the point cloud from the depth map obtained from iphone 11 pro (python). I tried to get the intrinsic matrix using an online exif tool.
Intrinsic_Matrix = [[3131.580078125, 0.0, 0.0], [0.0, 3131.580078125, 0.0], [1505.6236572265625, 2004.1282958984375, 1]]

I currently have a grayscale image varying between 1-255 representing the depth. I would like to get the depth coordinates (in meters).
Sorry, I only have some basic knowledge in this topic, any help would be appreciated.
Below is the code I tried but failed.
img_depth = cv2.imread('Images/image_depth11.jpg')
h, w ,c = img_rgb.shape
new_img = img_depth[:, :, 0]    # single channel
hd, wd = new_img.shape
#imC = cv2.applyColorMap(img_depth, cv2.COLORMAP_JET)

# intrinsic matrix iphone 11 Pro

Matrix = [[3131.580078125, 0.0, 0.0], [0.0, 3131.580078125, 0.0], [1505.6236572265625, 2004.1282958984375, 1]]

focalX = float(wd) * (Matrix[0][0] / wd)
focalY = float(hd) * (Matrix[1][1] / hd)
principalPointX = float(wd) * (Matrix[2][0] / wd)
principalPointY = float(hd) * (Matrix[2][1] / hd)
 distance ( z direction) = 1/Z  ( ie , 1/255 ??)

thanks
Nit

A: For absolute distance, you need to use a TrueDepth camera.
The TrueDepth camera produces disparity maps by default so that the resulting depth data is similar to that produced by a dual-camera device. However, unlike a dual-camera device, the TrueDepth camera can directly measure depth (in meters) with AVDepthData.Accuracy.absolute accuracy. To capture depth instead of disparity, set the activeDepthDataFormat of the capture device before starting your capture session:
See: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/avfoundation/cameras_and_media_capture/capturing_photos_with_depth
for further details on obtaining (x,y, depth or distance in meters from iPhone lens plane) values for a given pixel (x,y)


text:
Archives May 2020
Does the NBA have special favors for Zion Williamson?
The NBA has set a goal to restart the season on July 31. However, not everyone can play. Even so, Zion Williamson will be a little favored.
Everyone wants the NBA back, and with the players, they can't wait to play. However, with the US epidemic situation, not everyone will likely be able to play when the season officially restarts.
However, the NBA seems to be favoring a name, which is hot rookie Zion Williamson and his team New Orleans Pelicans.
This is shared by the prestigious journalist Brian Windhorst of ESPN. He said this right on television yesterday:
One thing he was listening to and he had spoken to my source during the tournament is that the executive team was planning Playoffs to ensure Zion Williamson was here.
There was a reason for the NBA to want to increase the number of teams participating in the Playoffs from 20 to 24 teams. Many options were being proposed, but one of them involved making sure Zion Williamson appears at the postseason when the season returned.
Here is the full video of journalist Brian Windhorst's sharing on ESPN:
Despite being drafted in June 2019, Zion Williamson only debuted for NBA fans in January 2020. Missing three months of the Regular Season, Zion needs time to recover from knee surgery in October.
However, Zion did not take long to show his great charisma and talent to attract his fans. Playing 19 matches, Williamson averaged 23.6 points with 6.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists before the tournament was postponed because of COVID-19.
Coupled with impressive statistics, Zion is like a portable highlights machine, constantly making the audience pop out of the chair with many powerful shots.
While fans were excited with Zion Williamson, the season was unexpectedly halted. New Orleans Pelicans are on the edge of the Playoffs with a record of 28-36, 3.5 games away from the 8th Grizzlies (equal to the 9th-placed Portland Trail Blazers).
In April, Zion Williamson told TNT that he was ready for every match if the season was restarted.


text:
Q: Create Hive table with Phoenix handler throws NoClassDefFoundError: org.apache.hadoop.hbase.security.SecurityInfo I want to create hive table on top of phoenix table in emr.
I am facing a  NoClassDefFoundError: org.apache.hadoop.hbase.security.SecurityInfo
What I have done so far:

*

*I followed the instructions from https://phoenix.apache.org/hive_storage_handler.html and added phoenix-hive-5.0.0-HBase-2.0.jar to hive-env.sh as well as in  hive-site.xml .

*Restarted the hive service systemctl restart hive-server2.service

*Restarted the metastore systemctl restart hive-hcatalog-server.service

*Executed create table command from hue:
create external table ext_table (
  i1 int,
  s1 string,
  f1 float,
  d1 decimal
)
STORED BY 'org.apache.phoenix.hive.PhoenixStorageHandler'
TBLPROPERTIES (
  "phoenix.table.name" = "ext_table",
  "phoenix.zookeeper.quorum" = "localhost",
  "phoenix.zookeeper.znode.parent" = "/hbase",
  "phoenix.zookeeper.client.port" = "2181",
  "phoenix.rowkeys" = "i1",
  "phoenix.column.mapping" = "i1:i1, s1:s1, f1:f1, d1:d1"
);

Got an exception: Error while processing statement: FAILED: Execution Error, return code 1 from org.apache.hadoop.hive.ql.exec.DDLTask. MetaException(message:java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: Could not initialize class org.apache.hadoop.hbase.security.SecurityInfo)
I am using emr-6.1.0
HBase 2.2.5
Phoenix 5.0.0
Hive 3.1.2
Anybody has an idea what can be the issue?
Update
I followed the advice from @leftjoin and used ADD JAR from hue to add phoenix-hive jar to classpath. Then I faced jar compatibility issue caused by phoenix hive connector that I use:
phoenix-hive-5.0.0-HBase-2.0.jar.
The newer versions of phoenix connectors are not archived into single bundle that could be downloaded from phoenix website . Instead
the connectors are located now in github repo.
I built the new phoenix-hive connector (versions: Phoenix->5.1.0, Hive->3.1.2, Hbase->2.2) and used it to create the Hive table.
As a result I got another exception, which I am not able to fix:
FAILED: Execution Error, return code 1 from org.apache.hadoop.hive.ql.exec.DDLTask. org/apache/phoenix/compat/hbase/CompatSteppingSplitPolicy

I think it is still somehow connected to dependency issues. But no clue what is exactly.

A: As a workaround put jar into hdfs and execute ADD JAR command before create table and query:
ADD JAR hdfs://path/to/your/jar/phoenix-hive-5.0.0-HBase-2.0.jar;


Imagine a place or places you'd love to visit. They can be real or fantasy.
Take off your shoes and socks. Use a Crayola® Crayon to outline your feet on large, light-color construction paper.
Use Crayons to draw the places you'd like to go. Draw several different places, or several different views of one place.
Cut out your feet and glue them to a piece of dark construction paper for a striking effect!


SHEfinds / Celebrity / On The Hunt For The Perfect White Jeans? One Word: Beyonce.
On The Hunt For The Perfect White Jeans? One Word: Beyonce.
Starting Friday, you are officially "allowed" by the fashion gods to wear white everything. But we all know the number one white item we must have are white jeans. Finding the perfect pair can be hard but don't worry. We consulted with Beyonce (okay, looked to) for the perfect pair to start your summer off right. Her J Brand 811 Mid Rise Skinny Jeans in Blanc ($178) are available in every size and will fit every occasion. Shop below!
Shop Sarah Hyland's crop top, Reese Witherspoon's skinny denim and Kelly Rowland's dress.


Data was supposed to revolutionize education.
With multiple data points on every student, we are supposed to be able to personalize learning for every student.
Unfortunately, we have been inundated by data. Data is gathered and stored, and difficult to interpret, and it doesn't often lead to meaningful changes in instruction in order to improve learning.
I used to work with a colleague who hand sorted data in a spreadsheet, and created beautiful colored charts that broke down student performance. When I asked her how she shared the spreadsheets with teachers, she was aghast. She said that she didn't actually share the data with teachers because they couldn't understand it.
And this is exactly the problem. When data is so complicated and overwhelming that we can't use it to improve instruction and learning, it ceases being useful.
Make it simple. Analyze a single piece of data on each student. After careful analysis, make concrete plans to help students based on what you see. Data does not need to be overwhelming, and if we simplify its collection and usage, we can help educators everywhere better meet student needs.


Weatherzone's team of World Meteorological Organization (WMO) qualified meteorologists hold expertise in a wide range of industries, including the aviation, energy, mining, marine, insurance and broadcast sectors.
Our meteorologists are available 365 days per year, around the clock to provide critical inputs to Weatherzone's industry leading products and services. Weatherzone meteorologists are highly skilled not only meteorology, but also in communication and importantly understanding our clients' needs. This ensures that you get more than just a weather forecast, but carefully designed briefings and information that help you make the right decisions, every time.


You have a patch request?
Settle for nothing but the best.
With your custom thought in mind.
All Chenille patches are tailored to your unique design. Quality patches made with 2 durable layers of felt. We seal the back of the patch for increased strength and vibrancy in colors.
We do this to ensure the highest quality at no extra cost, with no minimum.


text:
Amazon nabs bigger share of music downloads (poll)
Amy Scott Apr 17, 2013
https://www.marketplace.org/2013/04/17/amazon-nabs-bigger-share-music-downloads-poll/
Apple doesn't report earnings until next week, but analysts aren't expecting much of an announcement. The company is under pressure from competitors like Samsung, which starts shipping its new Galaxy S4 smartphone later this month. Apple hasn't introduced a groundbreaking gadget in a long time.
Even Apple's music business is taking a hit — from Amazon. The online retail giant snapped up 22 percent of the music download market in the last quarter of last year, according to the NPD Group's annual music study.
"Amazon has for years had a great CD business," says NPD Senior Vice President Russ Crupnick. As those same customers have adopted digital downloads, he says, "often times their loyalty to Amazon has stuck." Loyalty to Apple is slipping. iTunes' share fell to 63 percent, from 68 percent the year before.
Meanwhile, both Apple and Amazon have to worry about guys like Fletcher Price.
"I would say 99 percent of my music comes from Pandora One," says the 24-year-old business analyst from Indianapolis, Ind.
Price pays $36 a year to stream music — without actually owning any of it — on Pandora. Or he borrows his fiancée's Spotify account. That streaming service announced plans this week to expand into Asia and Latin America.
Still, Price says, sometimes you just have to own a song. His latest download: "Gangnam Style" on iTunes. "Just because it was a fantastic song," he says.
NPD's Crupnick says music streaming won't dominate the music business any time soon.
"Consumers still want a variety of ways to engage with music," he says.
Including some pretty low-tech ones. Crupnick says sales of physical, hold-in-your-hand CDs to teenagers were up about 20 percent last year.
How do you buy or listen to music?
Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the rate for Pandora One. The music service costs $36 per year. The text has been corrected.
Apple pulls the plug on iTunes as we know it
Spotify's free streaming model now faces competition from Google, Amazon
Amazon to launch music streaming service
Amazon is 2nd U.S. company to reach $1 trillion market value
Apple Music's push toward original content
Just what is Apple going to unveil Monday?


I was at the grocery store before coming home one night, buying stuff as usual. Chicken (skinless, boneless), organic greens, strawberries, raspberries, olive oil, brown rice, cans of tuna, cooking spices, soap, Qtips, and toilet paper. Me: I'll pay through interac, thanks. Cashier: Okay sir, go ahead… Me: Do you offer cash-back at this location?


Summary A man is baptized by two men in the South Platte River in Denver, Colorado. A woman stands nearby and watches.
Subject Denver (Colo.)--1900-1920.; South Platte River (Colo. and Neb.)--1900-1920.; Baptisms--Colorado--Denver--1900-1920.; Men--Colorado--Denver--1900-1920.; Rivers--Colorado--Denver--1900-1920.; Women--Colorado--Denver--1900-1920.


Learn how to configure Microsoft Outlook Express for use with your 1&1 e-mail account using the POP3 Protocol.
Launch Outlook Express from the Start menu on your computer and then select Tools > Accounts.
Select POP3 from the drop down menu (A).
Enter 587 as the Outgoing mail (SMTP) port and check the box for This server requires a secure connection (A).
Enter 995 as the Incoming mail (POP3) port and check the box for This server requires a secure connection (B).
Your e-mails will begin downloading!
Launch Outlook Express from the Start menu on your computer and then select Tools - > Accounts.
Make sure to select the newly added imap.1and1.com account we've just set up and click the Properties button.
Enter port number 993 as the Incoming mail (IMAP) port and check the box for This server requires a secure connection (SSL).
A new window appears asking Would you like to download folders from the mail server you added? Click the Yes button.
A list of all mail folders are displayed. All mail folders are set to visible by default however you can select mail folders you wish to hide. We will leave all mail folders visible by simply clicking the OK button and taking no other action.
You will see the account added on the left-hand side of the Outlook Express window. Setup is complete!