text:
Home > News > CSG On Campus To Handle Laboratory Waste
CSG On Campus To Handle Laboratory Waste
15 April 2016 by Louise Holgate
The University of Leeds has handed Fareham-based waste managers CSG a two-year contract to remove and treat all hazardous chemical waste from the university's laboratory complex.
CSG chemists will visit the university campus four times a year to list, label and pack the waste taken from faculties and services across the campus.
It will be transported to CSG's hazardous waste facility at Cadishead near Manchester where it will be treated in readiness for disposal or reuse.
The Cadishead site is one of the most advanced facilities of its kind in the UK and has been developed to handle some of industry's most hazardous by-products including waste from many of the North West's leading chemical companies.
The company recently launched a campaign encouraging facilities producing chemical waste – much of it toxic, flammable and corrosive – to detox their laboratories on a regular basis.
CSG operates a mobile facility specialising in the collection and transport of packaged hazardous waste which can often present a high risk to waste producers and requires special handling.
Its clients include schools and universities, research centres, government departments and pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturers.


The relationship between Dave Roberts and Yasiel Puig was looking very unsettling, but luckily it seems like the tide is turning.
On Monday, Dave Roberts spoke to reporters about having Puig back in the starting lineup and it was all positive. Roberts equated his relationship with Puig to that of a father and son, and surprisingly it works. It works really well in understanding these past few days.
"….My son's not grounded. He's allowed to leave the room, get on the field and play with his friends."
Dave Roberts' biggest emphasis this weekend was that he needs to be able to trust his players, and I don't think this is too much to ask for. The postseason will bring high-leverage situations for everybody on the 25-man roster and Roberts needs to make sure that they will make the right decision.
Should Roberts have benched Puig for making one mistake on Saturday? Maybe not. But maybe he felt like he needed to in order to make sure that Puig understood Roberts' position on the matter. As for Puig being benched on Monday, that's all on him for showing up late to the field.
From defending Pedro Baez from disgruntled Dodger fans to sticking up for a struggling Logan Forsythe all year long, Roberts has proven that he has all of his players' backs. And let's not forget that Puig was moved to batting 5th right behind Cody Bellinger, showing that Roberts has a lot of faith in the quality of at-bat that Yasiel Puig is going to have every time.
With all of that said, this "drama" between Dave Roberts and Yasiel Puig is behind the Dodgers now and that is what is most important. Personally, I'm looking forward to watching Puig finish the year strong and, hopefully, come up huge in October!


Have interaction Chicago is happy to supply an thrilling program element for college students fascinated by careers or further examine in health and medication. We could be a national model for environment friendly and effective care that will really enhance the health of the general public, and lower medical prices in the long run. The organization offering public medical insurance isn't essentially a public administration, and its finances may be remoted from the main state finances. Develop a sensible research plan in the fields of clinical care, public health or health promotion, incorporating a variety of methodologies and theoretical perspectives. Commencing in Trimester 1 (twenty sixth Feb 2018), the Agricultural Health and Medication (HMF701) unit is completed via a 5-day intensive and on-line assessment. Integrative Medication – Combines (integrates) modalities of each jap and western medicine, comparable to utilizing herbs or acupuncture to relieve the side-results of chemotherapy.
Lots of our courses embody Skilled Expertise Placement As a pupil, this means you'll get to expertise your chosen career within the office, putting theory into practice, in a real health care setting in Tasmania, throughout Australia, and maybe even internationally.
That is why Munson Medical Center gives comprehensive occupational well being and medicine programs that will assist your enterprise cut back injuries, lower costs, and promote a secure office. Although the shortage of monetary assets is a barrier to health care entry for many Individuals, the influence on access seems to be greater for minority populations. Addressing the wants of older adults transitioning from the hospital to the group and guaranteeing protected transitions throughout well being care programs. Such activity might lead to the lack of species of plants that might present aids to modern drugs.
The journal covers historical past, ethics, anthropology, epistemology, logic, metaphysics, philosophy of science and expertise, sociology and political science, regulation, and the philosophy of tradition and faith, centered on a common object of reflection: health care, the human effort to deal with disease, illness, demise as well as well being, effectively-being and life.


text:
Home / / About us / / News / / Higher & Further Education / / Green light for University of Glasgow campus masterplan
Green light for University of Glasgow campus masterplan
The University has welcomed the decision by Glasgow City Council to give the green light to its campus masterplan to develop the former Western Infirmary site.
The vote to approve planning permission in principle will lead to the creation of world-class teaching, learning and research facilities for students and staff.
It will also transform the West End of the city, bringing significant community, economic, environmental and cultural benefits as well as the creation of 2,000 to 3,000 new jobs.
Principal and Vice-Chancellor Professor Anton Muscatelli, said: "We are delighted that Glasgow City Council has endorsed our ambitious plan which we believe will be a major economic driver for the city and for Scotland as well as underpin this university's world-leading position.
"The decision to approve the masterplan is pivotal to allowing us to start this development. An initial financial envelope of around £430m will be spent over the next five years on the first phase of the project. It is part of a wider £1bn investment which includes significant spend on refurbishing and improving the existing estate. This will be one of the biggest educational infrastructure projects in Scotland's history and is certainly the biggest development undertaken by this University since it moved to Gilmorehill 150 years ago.
"We are very aware that whilst we undertake this scale of construction that we must minimise disruption to both the University community and the West End and the University will work closely with community groups to ensure we respect those living and working in the area."
This first phase of the development will see the construction of the following new buildings, together with clearance of the Western Infirmary Site and the new landscaping of the public realm:
A Learning and Teaching Hub
A Research Hub to facilitate new multidisciplinary cutting edge research
An Institute of Health and Wellbeing tackling the public health problems of Glasgow and beyond
The Adam Smith Business School including space to grow our postgraduate students population
A base for our College of Arts including new performance spaces
Significant upgrade of our chemistry building (the Joseph Black Building)
The second phase, expected to start in 2023, will deliver:
New teaching and research space for engineering
An Innovation Quarter on Church Street to improve engagement with local industry and promote creation of new companies
A building for research into chronic diseases
The creation of a Social Justice Hub to lead research in the elimination of global inequalities
A number of conditions are attached to the planning application which the University has recognised and to which the University is already working towards compliance. These conditions cover the replacement of trees, landscaping and the retail mix on the site.
The first building will be a new Learning and Teaching Hub which will link into the Boyd Orr building on University Avenue. Planning permission for the L&T Hub was granted in December. It will deliver a 500-seater raked lecture theatre, four flat-floored lecture theatres and 1,000-plus spaces for learning.
In the longer term it should also provide much-needed conference space and facilities for outreach and widening participation work with schools. Its construction will necessitate the demolition of the Mathematics and Statistics building whose occupants will move into a temporary home on the former Western Infirmary site in April.
Read the original news release from the University of Glagsow

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Plustrust wishes to encourage the enthusiasm of young people who wish to address social environmental and related issues and problems that bother them. Idealism and passion for change is rarely supported and those with the courage of conviction often need pragmatic support to make the change they wish to see. Plustrust sees opportunities to walk in step with these inspiring individuals especially as they start off their journey.
In order to encourage such youth, Plustrust provides fellowships and supports them to take their work forward. We do this through fellowships at the pre-incubation stage and through events from time to time.
We walk with those who choose new paths!
Our focus is on supporting young people with a desire to test out ideas for improving the lives of people around them. We do this through fellowships a the pre-incubation stage and through events from time to time. We are taking up direct projects to find ways to improve implementation of the RTE Act especially through strengthening SMCs. We are open to discuss all new ideas and themes that may arise from time to time.
Team, volunteers, specialists and other people you will need for the project.


Ideally located just 100 metres from Southern Cross Station and close to Marvel Stadium, our split-level venue offers function spaces for anywhere between 10 and 200 guests, with a superb 150 year old cathedral ceiling setting the scene for a memorable occasion.
Welcome to Saint & Rogue. Classically trained, Head Chef Brendan Cowie and his team call upon over four decades of shared fine dining experience - including Michelin Star holders across Europe, to present an internationally influenced, modern twist on Australian cuisine that celebrates locally sourced produce and quality ingredients.
Whether your visit is to enjoy a drink after work downstairs in our public bar, or for a beautiful meal with an old friend or loved ones upstairs in our restaurant, our focus is to make you feel at home. With that, we invite you to relax and enjoy great food, great company and even better wine.
Want to save time? Order ahead!
Please carefully read the Saint & Rogue Pre-Order Terms & Conditions before submitting your form.
Corporate functions, luncheons, dinners and drinks, meetings, fundraisers, birthday parties and celebratory dinners, cocktail parties, celebratory drinks, farewell parties, sporting functions, engagement parties, weddings, Christmas parties, and any other reason to celebrate!
At Saint & Rogue you will find an extensive range of quality beers and wine with food menu that is defined by simplicity and taste. We will work with you to create an event that is tailored to suit your function requirements.


$50 Discount for EMT payment (discount will be manually applied after the order is verified) Shipping options are by Canada Post.
What can be said about the SKS? But great service from Frontier.
Russian Surplus SKS Silver Bolt 5 Pack. Packed in Cardboard Boxes.


text:
Smartphone on wheels: Chevy Spark adds apps to driving experience Read more: http://
Your next car may have an Android behind the wheel.
The 2013 Chevrolet Spark minicar integrates your smartphone for navigation, audio capabilities, handfree calling and more. Similar to how you use your smartphone, the Chevy MyLink system uses a touchscreen to access the apps.
Scott Fosgard, communications manager for GM Infotainment, explained that the new technology is based on the most familiar gadget of them all.
"They have [smartphones] in their homes, they have them in their offices, and what's left? What's the last frontier? We're sitting in it. It's the car.
There is no radio system or CD player included in the vehicle. To listen to music or talk radio, you must download a few apps.
The Spark currently features connectivity to Pandora, a free, personalized radio app that plays music based on your favorite artist, song or composer. If you want talk radio, sports, news and more download Stitcher Internet radio, another free service.
Controlling apps is easy via the 7-inch screen console. The intuitive display makes it easy to tap into the app controls and return to the homescreen by touching the button with the house icon.
You can connect your smartphone to the system via Bluetooth or a USB cord. A USB cord for Apple products is included in the car.
Another compatible app is BringGo, a full-function navigation system with live traffic updates displayed on 3D maps. This app can be downloaded for $50 and can be used outside of the vehicle or in someone else's car.
"I can go to points-of-interest, and if I wanted to find parking, you'll see a drop-down menu," Fosgard told FoxNews.com. "Pick the one you want and the map will direct you to it."
BringGo includes other points-of-interest options like a certain type of restaurant, gas station, carwash and more. Also in case of an emergency, it includes the closest hospital, police and fire stations.
If you get lost, don't worry -- simply tap on the "Where am I" locator.
Drivers can access their smartphone's contacts using just the voice-recognition feature.
"We have levered a deal with Apple, so you have voice recognition through Siri," Fosgard said.
Another fun feature pulled straight from your smartphone is the availability to watch movies or a slideshow of pictures when in park.
"If you were to pull away, the screen would gray out—and the movies or photos would stop," Fosgard said.
After all, with a computer brain near the wheel, safety comes first.
Read more: Smartphone on wheels: Chevy Spark adds apps to driving experience | Fox News
Mr. Sparkle Oct 11, 2012


CREAM's make-it-yourself model makes it possible to assemble hundreds of ice cream and cookie combinations to satisfy any sweet tooth. With a kiosk soon to open in the center of Stonestown Galleria, the dessert franchise will join the ranks of Stonestown's many fast food restaurants that allow customers to personalize their meal.
Associate professor of hospitality and tourism Bo Ferns said fast-food chains opt for an interactive relationship with consumers to engage them in customized mass production. The make-it-yourself model involves less labor to put out the product than a sit-down restaurant as well as less training for the front-line workers.
Garcia, who first opened the CREAM in the Mission District in August 2014, said the franchise made the decision to open a store in Stonestown Galleria about a year ago because of the mall's constant foot traffic and the prime location the mall gave her. The shop will be centered right in between the two escalators in front of the main entrance and is the first business to occupy the location, according to Garcia. Garcia said she plans to open Nov. 21, but may be delayed to Dec. 5 depending on approval from contractors and health inspectors. She also said this CREAM will be the first one ever located in a mall as a kiosk.
Rochelle Anicete, a fourth-year microbiology major at SF State, has worked as a crewmember at the Chipotle in Stonestown Galleria for over a year. She said after she got hired, she started to notice different food joints of the "make-it-yourself style" popping up, such as Blaze Pizza and Built Custom Burgers. She said that although customer-service wise, it can get hectic, the trending personable way to order food is more valuable than traditional food services.
Jaime Anderson, an independent marketing contractor for the Stonestown CREAM, said that previous CREAM openings have been extremely busy. She said their crew expects nothing less than pandemonium for this grand opening.
For each of the franchise's openings, CREAM has offered free ice cream sandwiches to the first 3,500 patrons. The promo has drawn huge crowds of people who've waited in line for up to three hours, according to Anderson. She said they won't be doing the same elaborate grand opening for the Stonestown franchise.


text:
Geek Spectrum
A home for Queer Geeky voices
"Stonewall": Why Comfort is Dehumanizing
August 7, 2015 August 7, 2015 trainersarecoolestLeave a comment
The realization of my transness while being a part of your "average" white upper class household has both broadened my world view and drastically changed who I am as a person. Pre coming out 5 years ago, I was "normal", above average, and another "cis hetero white chick in Uggs" to be proud of. Upon donning men's clothing and hair cut for my own comfort and self-love, I became "psychologically disturbed", not successful enough, and the black sheep of the family. Although these words were rarely spoken aloud, I could feel my family's atmosphere about me change within the micro-aggressions, disappointed looks, and lessening gestures of compassion. I was suddenly "less than" in their minds for being transgender. And through these new feelings being expressed to me by my family and others, suddenly I became "less than" to myself too. Here is where I learned about privilege and what happens when you defy society's fitted box.
Of course, I'm sure a lot of people's coming out stories were more successful and ended in acceptance. Many more probably began with them fighting from an early age with their parents about "being different" instead of my choice to hide beneath my parents' expectations for so long. Either way, part of me is glad I hid. I got to have cis passing privilege for the first 17 years of my life and felt a brisk sting from society when it was taken away. The difference between those who have privilege and those who do not is that those who have it are considered human.
This is why representation is important. This is exactly why what Hollywood did to "Stonewall" is absolutely disgusting.
For those unaware of the historical Stonewall Riots, the event was the beginning of the gay rights movement and near the end of the civil rights movement. In 1969, it was legal to be arrested for being gay and for wearing the clothing of the opposite sex, since at the time the DSM still considered homosexuality a mental illness. There was an obsession with conformity to be heterosexual, cis, and white because society said so. Especially so, since the Cold War placed a fear in America of Communism, and at the time all that was un-conforming was communist. Of course this was wrong. Those affected knew it was wrong. And during a police raid of a popular gay bar in Manhattan known as Stonewall on June 28th, 1969, transwomen of color took action against this injustice.
But, how can this be? The trailer shows the leader as being a cis white gay man! Huh.
If it's not clear to you by now, I'm very upset by this inaccuracy. I'm upset because people of color are still being harassed and killed by the police. I'm upset because my transgender siblings and I cannot use the bathroom in certain places without being harassed, fined, or arrested and can still legally be killed in some states. I'm enraged that the LGBT community has celebrated about legal marriage and then forgotten about the transgender suicide epidemic and the murders of trans women of color. It is 2015.
It says a lot about privilege, I think, when a movie that should have been dedicated to the successes of the non-white, non-cis, and non-hetero community, the most unprivileged part of the LGBT community, is both cis and white washed. What, is society not ready for "too many" queer and POC individuals? So unbelievably unready that Hollywood was literally willing to change the accuracy of arguably the most important event in queer history to a cis gay man, someone that society is "somewhat okay" with?
It's heartbreaking to see heroes of the community silenced in their own movie. Those who started the movement, who longed for a better world where they would be seen as human are still not seen as human to this day. It's like trans women of color have been left behind and forgotten so that the slightly more privileged can have their rights.
Don't get me wrong. It's amazing. It's astounding. It's fantastic that we now have marriage equality. Being queer is finding its fit among society and sure, it's taking some time, but everyone knows someone who is gay. Gay people are loved and accepted finally, for the most part. We still have things to work on, but where we are now with this issue considering the past is great. It's the cusp of what Stonewall stood for.
But that doesn't make it right or okay to erase an important part of LGBT history and especially an important achievement for transgender women of color for the sake of the rest of society, who are allowed to feel human and comfortable in their own skin, to feel even more comfortable. Representation, especially accurate representation of this moment, would have provided this specific underprivileged group a reason to feel that same comfort. They could have been reminded that what they do and what they say does have purpose and merit in the world. Yet, what they will get instead is society's version of the stereotypical gay male inaccurately saving the day.
By all means, if you want to view this film. Go ahead. Find it online. Rent it when it comes out. However, I along with many others shall be boycotting this one. It doesn't deserve recognition for the more harm it will cause than good. No one is learning anything about POC or transgender individuals from this at a time when people really need to. That little itch of discomfort might cause the world to wake up to the fact that cisness and whiteness does not determine success. Here's to Stonewalling "Stonewall". Because no one, no matter how privileged or underprivileged deserves to be left behind.
Uncategorizedblacklivesmatter, LGBT, opinion, POC, social justice, Stonewall, Stonewall Movie, Stonewall Riot, trans women, transgender
Science Questions and Jurassic Park
July 24, 2015 pjradziLeave a comment
I saw the Jurassic Park movie over three weeks ago and I enjoyed it immensely. However, as I watched the movie, I could not help but wonder if there was anything in the movie that could be answered by science. I decided then and there to put a question as a Facebook status update to see if I can answer any science-related questions about the movie. To my surprise, I received some replies. Below are replies to some of the questions I have received.
1. How far can you really run from a dinosaur while wearing high heels without being eaten?
The movie's deuteragonist, Claire Dearing, spends the majority of the film in high heels – even being chased by life-threatening raptors by them!
Sadly, science proves that you can't run far in high heels.
Neil Cronin, a biology professor at University of Jyvaskyla in Finland, states that the impact of the foot in a high-heeled shoe "would be concentrated over a small region of the foot in high heels, creating regions of very high pressure." In simple words – foot pain. Running in high heels is a "very inefficient way to move."
Even though it's common knowledge that wearing high heels is detrimental to feet, until now there haven't been many studies to prove that statement. In a study performed by Hanseo University in South Korea, women who wear high heels for an extended period of time experienced decreased ankle strength and balance problems.
Would that make you reconsider running in heels altogether?
2. Were the Velociraptors really that big?
Velociraptors are a staple of the Jurassic Park universe, appearing in all four movies. In all of the Jurassic Park movies, they are double a man's height:
The truth: velociraptors were the size of a small turkey. Here is a picture for reference:
In addition, fossil evidence from Mongolia showed that Velociraptors had feathers, not scaly skin as seen in the film. However, the arms of Velociraptors were too short, so they were unable to fly.
The Velociraptors in the Jurassic Park movies were based on Deinonychus, a much larger raptor.
3. So InGen decides to go and build Jurassic World on Isla Nublar, the original site of Jurassic Park. InGen also had Isla Sorna aka Site B, the main setting for The Lost World and Jurassic Park III.
Even though the island is restricted, does it seem possible that InGen made a second Jurassic World at Isla Sorna?
At the end of the movie, the chief geneticist Dr. Wu was helicoptered off the island with the dinosaur embryos. At the end of Jurassic Park III, pterosaurs are seen leaving Isla Sorna seeking new nesting grounds. Even though the island and its facilities are abandoned, InGen still owns the island, since there is no mention in the Jurassic Park canon that the company has sold their island. So yes, it could be possible that InGen could have made a second Jurassic World on the island.
4. Are pterodactyls actually strong enough to pick up full grown people?
Pterosaurs (their proper name) have rather slender feet. The pterosaurs have only four flat forward-facing digits on their feet. An example of pterosaur feet can be seen below:
Check out these muscle diagrams after the jump:
Look at how thin the foot muscles and bones are! This means pterosaurs would be unable to grab prey the same way a bird of prey would grab prey, since birds of prey have highly developed bones for that exact purpose.
Another factor to consider is weight. Let's use birds as a comparison example. Birds have a tendency to kill and fly off with prey that weigh smaller and have a smaller mass. It's safe to assume that pterosaurs do the same thing based on fossil records and estimates—the average pterosaur weighs 35 kg (77lbs). Considering that in the scene the woman being lifted must weigh at least 60 kg (approximately 130 lbs), there is no possibility that pterosaur could have properly lifted that woman into the air and took flight.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/06/17/science-weighs-in-on-high-heels/
http://gimpasaura.blogspot.com/2015/02/people-snatching-pterosaurs.html
ConnectiCon 2015: The Return Home
July 21, 2015 July 22, 2015 trainersarecoolestLeave a comment
If you're an avid Con-goer like myself, you most likely have that one con you look forward to slightly more than all the others each season. For me, it's always been ConnectiCon. It was the first three day convention I ever attended and every time my feet grace that overly-red patterned carpet it feels like I've returned home. This year was no different.
The first thing I noticed about CtCon 2015 was the more organized line system. Although I was busy supporting my datemate in their panel before receiving my badge, I did notice on my way to the room that the pick-up took place predominantly within the lower lobby of the hotel instead of on the con floor itself. This continued throughout the weekend and kept the flow on the con floor open. Also, lines for autographs were in the dealer's room this year, which seemed to work out very well, too. Especially considering all the big names that attended this year, like George Takei and Nichelle Nichols.
The dealer's room for the avid con-goer is always a forest of deja-vu (in a good way, of course). It's always nice to see familiar faces in the booths along with friends in the Artist Alley. It's cool to track the progress of vendors and artists with what new merchandise and creations they bring in. It felt more spacious and open in the room this year, which was nice. It was a great atmosphere to decompress in after running from panel to panel.
Speaking of panels, I've been on numerous, but had the wonderful opportunity to run one myself this year on transgender metaphors in fandom. It went really well and I would love to run this particular panel and others in the future at the con! The rooms are large, cool and a staff member is always present to deal with crowd numbers, tech and time organization between the previous panel and the next. CtCon is usually very on top of organization like this and it's extremely helpful to panelists. People who attend panels at CtCon are always engaged and lovely to meet and discuss with. It's part of the reason why I love paneling at this con.
A panel I attended and enjoyed was the Five Nights at Freddy's Live panel, which had people playing the game for the first time while the panelist explained the science and game design reasoning as to why it is terrifying. It was extremely educational along with a lot of fun. At the same time the Masquerade was taking place along with a fire work show outside of the con. There always seems to be some event going on that'll peak your interest. Another plus to this amazing convention.
The one problem about CtCon is finding food, which was something that recently has been solved. With the festival that takes place outside the con's perimeters, a plethora of food trucks provided cheap meal options throughout the day. A closer Subway opened in the Science Center near the Convention Center along with more restaurant options across the street from the main entrance. And as always, there's a Starbucks, the Convention Center's signature $7 chicken nuggets, and ice cream!
The only ongoing issue I have with the convention is the bathroom policy. This probably has more to do with the Convention Center itself and Connecticut's transgender laws, but it would be nice if the convention would find a way to make the Center more inclusive for the weekend, especially in an environment where so many transgender and gender non-conforming individuals attend. There were once again problems with assigning a gender neutral restroom and transgender attendees getting reprimanded by Convention Center staff for being in the "wrong" restroom. That caused me, as a trans person and boyfriend to another trans person, significant discomfort all weekend. Worrying about bathrooms shouldn't have to be something I worry about at a convention where people are so open minded. As I said though, this may be an issue the con itself has no control over, sadly.
Although it went by fast as always, I would give CtCon another 9/10 this year, as I do every year, for always being home-like and full of the friends I've missed. Yeah, it might not be the world's largest convention, but if you go, you'll fall in love with the atmosphere and the people. Definitely go.
UncategorizedConnectiCon, convention, convention review, CtCon
The Music of Jurassic World.
July 1, 2015 meganlorrainehassan
John Williams wrote the iconic theme and film score for Jurassic Park, a movie I was raised on. Williams also composed the film score for the sequel Lost World. When you talk or even think about Jurassic Park, John Williams' music comes directly to mind. That being said, how is it possible to have Jurassic World without John Williams composing the film score? Easy. You hire Michael Giacchino and ask him to compose something to match John Williams' theme.
First a bit more information about Giacchino. At fist I did not even know who he was. One Google and Wiki trip later I find out that he has been composing beautiful scores that we all know and love. He has composed scores for Lost, Alias and Fringe as well as, the Medal of Honor and Call of Duty games. More impressively, in my mind, he wrote the scores for Mission: Impossible III, The Incredibles, Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, Cloverfield, Ratatouille, Up, Super 8, Cars 2, John Carter, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Inside Out, and The Muppets' Wizard of Oz. So he's not some random guy that popped up out of no where to be a clone of John Williams. No, he's a really cool dude that has an awesome portfolio to back him up.
I am not saying that the music in Jurassic World is of a lower quality, it is quite the contrary. Giacchino did an amazing job blending his own compositions with John Williams. It can be clearly heard after having been re-watching every Jurassic Park film for the entire week leading up to the release of Jurassic World.
I was going to go through song by song and scene by scene to compare and contrast the music of both movies. Instead I would like to share a quote from anther article written by Christina Radish.
So, how challenging was it to pay homage to one of the most famous composers and one of the most well-known film scores while still making the music new and your own?
GIACCHINO: The great thing about John's music is that you could stick it anywhere and it sounds amazing 'cause he's just the greatest there is. For us, as fans of the film, neither Colin [Trevorrow] nor I wanted to make a Jurassic Park movie without hearing that theme. It was about saying, "Okay, where can we put it? Where does it make the most sense?" Colin had this idea that the beginning of the film is delivering on a promise that was made 20-some years ago, when we said we were going to make an actual functioning Jurassic Park. So, what we thought was, when we show that, that's where we should deliver John's theme. It was a really targeted approach, as to where to do it and where would make the most sense and where would we most appreciate it, as fans ourselves. And then, there were a couple more places, here and there, in the rest of the film, where we thought we could use a little bit, but it was a very targeted thing. We really thought it out. When you heard it, we wanted it to mean something. I'm lucky, I work with guys who allow and really love music and they love melody and they love those sorts of scores. But, so many movies these days are made where you could have just thrown anything into the movie and it wouldn't matter. So, it's really wonderful to work with people that respect that old school way of doing it. I feel very lucky.
With that being said, I have nothing more to write. Included in this article is a link to the article written by Christina Radish and a link to the Spotify Playlist Geek Spectrum – Jurassic Music, which has both albums. Please take some time to listen to both soundtracks to fully understand how amazing both Williams and Giacchino are.
Geek Spectrum – Jurassic Music
Article by Christina Radish
Queeroes #2
May 27, 2015 abdicatedempressLeave a comment
Hello and welcome to Queeroes! I had to skip last week due to finals and moving out and getting situated back at my own house for the summer, but here it is! The next post!
Last time on Queeroes, I wrote about Bobby Drake and how he was outed by Jean Grey. After writing about it, I went ahead and read some comics, you know for research. It makes reading his scenes 10x better when you picture him as a closeted gay man. Try it.
This week I'm going to write about:
Alan Scott!
Alan Scott is the OG Green Lantern in the DC franchise. I wanted to write about him because this is another example of how comics can take a character who never previously seemed homosexual and make them that. Because representation is awesome. Nice.
In 2011, Alan Scott was revamped as a gay superhero in DC's Earth 2. He became an openly gay man dating Sam Zhao. The two were on vacation, Alan proposed, everything was hunky-dory when all of a sudden tragedy strikes: the train they were on crashes, leaving Alan as the only survivor. This is when Alan becomes The Green Lantern, as The Green appears before him and asks him to become the protector of the Earth.
Okay so Alan was revamped to be a gay man, which is great! There's nothing to say he couldn't be gay, so they went with it. But will DC ever do anything else with him?
Beyond appearing in Earth 2 comics, I doubt it sadly. I want the new Green Lantern movie to be about him, but it's impossible to tell now, and I sadly have my doubts.
However, Alan is a great character and offers great representation. He's well cared for by the writers, even if they killed his boyfriend. If nothing else, he's amazing as he is. Even if I'm bitter and want more.
Alas, I'm not a huge DC fan, so I apologize for how subpar this week's article is. If you have any suggestions, feel free to message me! Does wordpress have a messaging option? I don't know. Here have my email in case it's not public: abdicatedempress@gmail.com
See you next time on Queeroes!
Uncategorizedqueer, Queer representation
The Superpowers and Tools of the Avengers Can Be Explained by Science! (Well, Mostly)
May 4, 2015 May 4, 2015 pjradziLeave a comment
To celebrate the release of the superhero movie Avengers: Age of Ultron this past weekend, the American Chemical Society just released a new YouTube video on their Reactions channel. In the video, Dr. Raychelle Burks, a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Nebraska—Lincoln, gives easy-to-understand scientific explanations behind the Avengers' superpowers and gadgets.
According to Burks, Iron Man's suit would most likely be made of nitinol, a nickel-titanium alloy that is both light and durable. The reasoning behind this is because Iron Man's original and gold-titanium alloy suits would weigh 150 lbs. and 350 lbs. respectively, which would impede Stark's movements. So much for Iron Man zipping around buildings. In addition, the suit may also include graphite reinforced with carbon fiber in order to protect his feet from his rocket boots. I don't know about you, but burnt feet isn't something that Tony Stark would have tolerated, given his flashy nature.
In addition, it is plausible that Iron Man would have created a new element to power his arc reactor. Scientists have created 20 of the 118 elements of the periodic table, which are shown in pink and purple below:
Burks also tackles Captain America's and Black Widow's healing factor abilities. She deduced it all boils down to his white blood cells. A special type of white blood cell, called a macrophage, release chemical messengers called growth factors to heal wounds. In a normal human being, this repair process takes between 2 to 5 days to complete. In the case of Captain America and Black Widow, their macrophages are super industrious due to their biotechnological enhancements. These macrophages are working overtime in order to pump out more growth factors to heal bodily wounds quickly.
What about Captain America's shield? It is made from vibranium, which is a durable ultra-tough metal frequently mentioned in the Marvel Universe. It may be fictional, but it can conduct energy transfers seen in real-life science experiments.
In a scene from the first Avengers movie, Thor strikes Captain America's shield with his hammer. Both Captain America and Thor are knocked backward but the shield emerged unscathed. Burks explained that the vibranium in the shield absorbed the impact from Thor's hammer, converting its vibrational energy to light energy.
The vibrational energy of the hammer is kinetic energy—energy it has because it is moving—to the shield, a stationary object. The hammer's energy is then transferred to the shield and becomes potential energy—which is stored energy the object possesses because it is not moving. The product of this energy transaction is light energy. If the shield was not made from vibranium, this energy transfer would be enough to break it. But because of vibranium's unique nature to absorb all kinetic energy directed at it, transfer it to potential energy, and store it in its molecules, the shield is virtually indestructible.
See? The Avengers may be created out of the comic writers' and artists' imaginations, but perhaps their abilities were more based in science than was previously thought.
Uncategorizedamerican chemical society, avengers, black widow, captain america, captain america's shield, chemistry, geek, iron man, marvel, science
Steven Universe, The Visual Representation of Love
May 1, 2015 trainersarecoolestLeave a comment
If you haven't watched Steven Universe yet, do it. Drop everything you're doing and watch it now. Literally, right now. Yeah, its finals week, but your GPA is not as important as this show is. Okay – I'm totally exaggerating, school is important too, but definitely treat yourself to an episode or two after studying a bit because this show is absolutely revolutionary and is exactly what every kids show needs to be: uplifting, intelligent, and so heart wrenchingly and irrevocably full of love. In fact, the show itself is love. Steven Universe is quite literally a visual representation of love.
You know how with every fandom you can usually spot your character in the first five minutes? Wave goodbye to that, because there's going to be a lot of, "MY BA- no wait, this is my – but what about…?" and then passing out. You most likely will not have a favorite character since every character from the very beginning of the opening credits is going to be your favorite. Even the side characters are going to be your favorite. Even Onion (especially Onion) is going to be your favorite. Every single character is engaging in their own unique way, each character has an inner conflict that within their own subplots of the show you watch them deal with. No one is two-dimensional or just seems to "be there". They're all your babies. The amount of "feels" you are about to embark on for the inhabitants of Beach City are overwhelming.
You will also notice that the representation is fantastic. Especially for those who usually get absolutely zero representation. Not only are the Crystal Gems nonbinary, but they are feminine presenting and use female pronouns. There's this sad stereotype within the nonbinary community that to be androgynous identifying, one has to be masculine, which is the furthest from the truth, since there is no right or wrong way to be nonbinary. Femme nonbinary people often get the shaft or their identities are ignored because of this, which is unfortunate. But look, we've got some badass femme presenting nonbinary Gems destroying those stereotypes now. On screen for all to see.
Many, many sexualities are represented. We've seen two femme identifying gems kiss each other on screen, when in years past on Cartoon Network lesbian representation could not be blatantly canonical (aka the Bubbline fiasco). Bisexual (or pan, or queer) representation is seen through Sadie's character, where she has feelings for Lars, but has also been seen blushing over Stevonnie, who presents femininely. There is also the widely accepted head canon (please, oh please, become canon) that Sadie and Lars are a trans girl and a trans boy.
There's a plethora of racial diversity to the point where it's actually a realistic portrayal of humanity for once instead of a white wash party. There are the Pizza's, Garnet, Mr. Smiley, Connie and her family, and Onion (…?). You've got your body positivity! Steven and Greg are chubby. Amethyst is short, Garnet has wonderful hips, Pearl is a little bird. Rose Quartz is the size of all the love she has to give to the universe.
Most importantly, female representation. There are more females and femme identifying individuals on this show than men rather than the other way around, which is the usual. Steven is the only masculine identifying one amongst the powerful gems. Connie is wonderful. Connie is flawless and in her own sense is a positive representation of the "fandom girl". I could literally rant about every single one of them, but then this would become a novel.
Even better, the representation is so subtle because it should be. By doing this, the show itself promotes the idea that you deserve to be yourself and do not need justification for it. So many shows today either shove the representation in your face shouting, "LOOK WHAT WE DID. WOW. SO PROGRESSIVE" or the "representation" is there to make jokes. In Steven Universe, people's identities are just not a big deal because they shouldn't be. The show is celebrating the intelligence of the audience, of children by doing this. Children will see that Garnet is black, that Steven is fat, but they know the imminent invasion of Earth is a lot more important to discuss.
On important issues; love. Familial love, friendship, romantic love. Steven, the innocent yet vastly intelligent little boy is surrounded by the love of those who raised him; Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst and Greg. It is seen that they each teach Steven different lessons on life and love, yet as we learn, the opposite is more of the truth. Steven is the glue that holds these four together in their healing from the loss of his mother, Rose Quartz. I won't go into too many details, but a lot of what each gem is personally going through is some dark and serious stuff. For a kid's show, its deep, but the depth of the lessons kids watching are receiving from this show is exactly what, I think, they should be learning. It's done in such a light hearted way because the characters are so pure. So much is gained for all who watch this show. It shows the viewers the importance of healthy love for everyone in your life. Hell, the idea of fusion itself can be an allegory for so many different forms of love, but I think that's an article for another day.
I don't even have a real conclusion for this. Just please watch it. I can promise you it will change your life. And listen to this:
UncategorizedAmethyst, AND Steven!, cartoon, Cartoon Network, fandom, Garnet, love, opinion, Pearl, Steven Universe, television
Bruce Jenner: One Giant Leap For Mankind
April 30, 2015 trainersarecoolestLeave a comment
I was a bit terrified when it was announced that Bruce Jenner was going to appear on 20/20 to talk about his (he has asked for male pronouns, presently) gender identity. Rightfully so, of course, considering the tabloid with purposefully horrendous photoshopped pictures, the news plucking at Bruce's personal life as if he were a side show, and the paragraphs upon pages of harmful slurs in reference to him made the transgender community feel a lot less safe. 2015 had been previously dubbed "The Transgender Tipping Point", yet by that same media the message that Bruce was mentally unstable and Angelina was abusing "Shiloh" rang within our community's ear like a mantra. So I don't think any of us were prepared for what occurred last Friday.
It was one of the most respectful, truthful, and progressively eye-opening interviews a transgender person was allowed to give. Ever.
There are some mixed opinions on what the effect of the interview will have. I've read people not downplay it, but hold more of "it is what it is" stance. Other's were apathetic; since why should we, the transgender community, care so much about a rich white transgender woman celebrity, when the voices of those who struggle with acceptance, with abuse, finances, and most importantly, death are always stifled? An opinion on the issue that really resonated with my own was Trans activist and YouTuber, Chase Ross (uppercaseCHASE1)'s video discussing how this was the transgender community's Ellen DeGeneres moment.
He talked about the Janet Mock interview where she also referred to Jenner's interview as such. No one knew about gay issues before Ellen's coming out, nor was there a lot of positively portrayed gay characters represented in the media as just characters instead of being the punchline. The trans community is at a similar point, and like what Ellen's coming out did for the acceptance and normalization of the gay community, Bruce's story will bring transgender individuals a similar situation. I don't think I'm being too optimistic when I say, yes, I think it will. This is mostly due to how revolutionary the interview was in how well it was handled.
Diane Sawyer let Jenner speak freely of his story and did not once diminish his voice with her own commentary. It was a conversation instead of an interrogation. The correct information was given to the audience in a respectful, non-biased way instead of taking stereotypes of the trans experience and boxing us in to a "one size fits all" situation. Bruce Jenner was never a "manly man". Chase mentions this within his own video, which had been the most important part of the entire interview for me, personally.
So often the media, even other transgender individuals, refer to what I deem this "one size fits all" narrative. That, as a child in their original sex, the individual was either the ultimate "butch lesbian" and "tomboy" or the epitome of "flamboyant" in a way that when they eventually did come out as transgender, everyone "saw it coming" since being hyper masculine and hyper feminine are the most obvious markers of one's gender in society. Which, Bruce Jenner, the Olymic athlete, the "manly man"'s story proves wrong. Gender is much more complicated than that and being transgender is so much more than how we present, which is a fact that the transgender community has already known for ages and now society knows too.
There is no right or wrong trans narrative; there is only your own. It's tough, its unique and most importantly it's valid. Tons of narratives, in fact surprisingly most, like Bruce's, you would never have guessed. This was the moment of the interview where I began crying; when Bruce's first wife and other family members discussed their initial shock, then acceptance. Finally, my own story was being presented and recognized as being "trans enough". Before I came out, I was the least likely suspect for being a transgender male. I wore make-up, scarves, I enjoyed (still enjoy) stereotypically "girly" things. I had been called a tomboy in jest before, since I was quirky and also grew up loving stereotypically "boy" things too. Not a single person ever found that suspicious, even though for years I was anxious in liking anything remotely "masculine", even though I was what I would describe now as being feminine neutral. I wore "girl" clothes that seemed a bit more in-between to be more comfortable, I struggled with stifling more of my masculine traits. I viewed myself as sticking out as a sore thumb, a sorry excuse for your basic girl, but apparently I "passed" well enough. Yet, when I came out, I was met with shock.
That's the thing about trans folk. Before we come out, a lot of us are great actors (ironically, I did theatre. It brought me the most comfort and peace within myself because I was able to escape myself). Like Bruce, I knew something was up from a young age. I didn't know what it was, but I just knew being a boy seemed more familiar and natural to me than girlhood was. It wasn't even anything to do with gender stereotypes; I wanted the bare chest, the short hair, the ability to be as rowdy and rambunctious as I wanted to be without being made fun of anymore. It was so intrinsically deep within my personality and I just knew. I had no word for it. I was sure I wasn't gay (especially since the term lesbian just never sat right). But the catch was this; I didn't want to admit any of it. It was too weird and I knew it would hurt a lot of people. So, like Bruce, I conformed as best as I possibly could. I did the absolute best with what I was given, until the word "transgender" first graced my computer screen in 2011 and I saw a way out.
Bruce's pain is identical to my own and I'm sure, many others out there as well. Hiding our personal truth was so much easier than destroying those you love. Letting them believe that your acting was method so you wouldn't feel like a stranger that they were responsible for creating. The hardest thing for many transgender people to overcome is guilt. Bruce didn't want to upset the country he inspired, the ex-wives he had loved, those ten sons and daughters he cherished to no end. He waited 65 years through the dysphoria, the stagnant life shearing past him, every moment of self-hate for one act of selflessness. This is so important for us with unaccepting families, the us who cannot speak up for ourselves out of fear, the us who acted our lie too well that now no one believes us, because we are now visible. We now exist. My mom watched the interview and for the first time since I've been out, I didn't get silence from her but a text, saying, "Trying to research Dr. from Children's Hospital Boston that was on Bruce Jenner special…perhaps he could be a good resource. Love you."
This was the most important to me, but there is so much more to this interview that was progressive. A Doctor assured that being transgender just happens. It is not a parent's fault, nor does the way a child is raised have anything to with it. Trans people come in all ages, all forms of life, and all different gender identities. Not just the binary male and female, but genderqueer, nonbinary, androgyne, agender, Two-spirit and everything far and in between. Gender and sexuality are not the same; there are gay trans men, lesbian trans woman, and bisexual genderqueer people, along with, again, all combinations far and in between. This information might not get into everyone's heads all at once, but it is out there and a better understanding of what it means to be transgender will come from it. What used to be baby steps are now becoming giant leaps towards society changing.
I know, personally, Friday even if nothing comes out of this interview and we're all back to square one again, I gained another trans hero and positive influence. And a new mantra:
"I'm saying goodbye to people's perception of me and who I am. But I'm not saying goodbye to me. This has always been me. [When you think of me], please be open-minded. I'm not this bad person. I'm just doing what I have to do."
Uncategorized20/20, acceptance, agender, Bruce Jenner, Bruce Jenner Interview, Diane Sawyer, ftm, genderneutral, genderqueer, LGBT, mtf, Nonbinary, queer, social justice, trans, trans activism, trans man, trans rights, trans woman, transfeminine, transgender, transgender issues, transgender rights, transitioning, transmasculine
April 29, 2015 April 29, 2015 abdicatedempressLeave a comment
Hello and welcome to the first update of Queeroes, a series where I will write about queer superheroes, though it will probably end up extending into all media. For now, let's focus on superheroes.
And this week, we'll be focusing on my absolute favorite: X-Men. X-Men is basically an allegory for most minority groups. Some people say race, some people say queer, some people say disabilities. While I love all these ideas, I'm going to talk about the queer allegory.
There are some mutants who are able to hide their abilities, such as Professor X and Magneto. However, other's are stuck having their abilities out in the open, causing them to be judged and even attacked. This is similar to sexuality and gender.
Let's say Professor X represents being gay. Being gay is something you can hide. (It's a shame most people have to.)
But then there's Nightcrawler. Nightcrawler can't hide his mutation, I mean, he's blue! This can be similar to transgender people. Lots of times, it's extremely hard for trans folk to hide the fact they are trans (due to cissexist ideals on how people should look but I digress.) In this case, Mystique could be considered a trans person who "passes" or "blends." She is able to hide her ability, but she is still a mutant and could still be found out due to any slip ups.
Onto the queer superhero of the week! While I'd love to go on about, say, the possibility of queer feelings between Havok and Darwin in First Class (though Havok/Banshee is the otp) or even the entirety of the relationship between Professor X and Magneto, I'll be sticking to just one character.
And that character is:
*drum roll please*
Bobby Drake!
As you probably all know, it's been revealed that Bobby Drake, or Iceman, comes out as gay in All-New X-Men #40.
After commenting on a female character's "hotness" (in his words,) Jean Grey questions why he is hiding that he is gay.
While he's basically outed, it's still an awesome thing. Not only is Iceman a gay superhero, but he was one of the originals.
People were confused, as older depictions of Iceman identifies as straight, but I think it's totally plausible. Often times, queer people have to hide it, so why couldn't Bobby Drake be gay while saying he's straight?
All-New X-Men writer Brian Michael Bendis commented on how the X-Men franchise is able to make this work. Due to time travel, there's lots of ways a character's story line can be developed past what we think we know based on installments from the future. In Bendis's words, "This is just the first little chapter of a much larger story that will be told."
So good for you, Bobby Drake! Even though Jean Grey outed you, I think it's still awesome that you exist! Even if your future self has to claim to be straight, it's still awesome to know the truth, because that in itself can be inspiring.
After All These Years, Facebook is Still Being Used by Teens
April 22, 2015 April 29, 2015 pjradziLeave a comment
Ah, teenagers. They are the self-claimed connoisseurs of recent trends in whatever topic interests them, from music to fandoms to even methods of communication. If you've been around them in some capacity, you might be hearing some of them state that Facebook isn't in anymore and Snapchat is all the rage. Fear not – they've been exaggerating. According to a recent report from the Pew Research Center, Facebook is the most popular and frequently used social media platform among teens. (By the way, the same report states that Snapchat ranks third in popularity.) This can be attributed to the fact that most teens have access to a smartphone. The majority of teenagers (77%) surveyed have a smartphone, and out of those with a smartphone, 94% of them go online from mobile devices daily or more often.
These findings contrast with the results of a report conducted in 2014 by the investment bank Piper Jeffray, which stated that Instagram is the number one social networking website used by teens at 76%. Facebook placed third in that particular survey with 45%. Why? Two words: Sample size. The Pew Research report only surveyed 1060 teens, while the Piper Jeffray report surveyed 7200 teens. As you can see above, the Pew Report surveyed its subjects in two one-month increments. The Piper Jeffray report surveyed teens at shorter junctures in two points of the year: spring and fall of 2014. The Pew Research report also revealed that teens from a higher-income stratum are somewhat more likely to use Snapchat. In addition, boys are more likely to play video games than girls, with 91% of boys surveyed have or having access to a game console, compared with 70% of girls. This last fact is startling, considering that more people game (including the columnists here at Geek Spectrum!), according to a 2014 ESA study on gaming in the United States. After viewing these statistics, one can only conclude that not only posting cat pictures and filtered selfies on your wall are still in vogue among teens, but also how smartphone technology has become a large factor in their (our!) day-to-day lives. Besides, don't adults also post cat pictures and fawn over them?
Uncategorizedfacebook, Geek Spectrum, science, Snapchat, social media, technology, teenagers
trainersarecoolest
Being Trans and a Freshman: College Advice From a Recent (Trans) Grad
j m m
On the series premiere of 'Westworld,' technology is a sympathetic, fickle thing
xxxabbynormalxxx
Sex Ed Saturday:Lets Talk About Nudes
Cosplay/Fashion
Follow Geek Spectrum!
Enter your email address to get updates about our latest posts and content!


LAS VEGAS—Over the past two years, 35 unique ransomware strains earned cybercriminals $25 million, with Locky and its many variants being the most profitable.
The data comes from a study debuted Wednesday at Black Hat by Google, Chainalysis, UC San Diego, and the NYU Tandom School of Engineering. The study is unique in that it based calculations on bitcoin payments and blockchains. The result allowed researchers to create a precise picture of the ransomware ecosystem and who the top earners were, starting with Locky at $7.8 million in payments from victims, followed by Cerber and CryptXXX that earned $6.9 million and $1.9 million.
"Ransomware is here to stay and we will have to deal with for a long time to come," said Kylie McRoberts, a senior strategist with Google's Safe Browsing team.
In contrast, researchers said Locky pulled in more than 28 percent of the $25 million earned by ransomware since 2016.
Locky's secret, according to Luca Invernizzi, a research scientist in Google's anti-abuse team, is that its authors focused on malware development and finessing the supporting botnet infrastructure. Keeping development separate from distribution allowed the malware to be spread wider and faster than its competitors.
Cerber success has been its affiliate model, allowing it to sustain income of $200,000 a month, McRoberts said.
Researchers also singled out Spora as an up-and-coming ransomware to watch. They said the malware sets itself apart integrating topnotch customer support with features such as real-time chat to help victims navigate payments and offering immunity packages to avoid getting hit by the ransomware again in the future.
According to Google, the malware writers behind CyptoLocker, Locky and Cerber have been getting better at evading detection by creating malware that can automatically change binaries. The study found 23,000 unique binaries for Cerber in 2017 and 6,000 for Locky. Of the samples Google looked at, a total of 301,588 binaries were examined. That's been key when it comes to sneaking past antimalware protection, said Elie Bursztein leads Google's anti-abuse research.
Google researchers warned that in the year ahead ransomware-as-a-service was going to become even more prevalent and so will the number of impostors looking to cause more damage than extort money.


text:
The Big Ambition of Lil Dicky
Jacket, $180, Meals. Pants, $120, Meals. Slippers, $100, Ugg. Socks, $22 (for pack of 6), Nike.
The rapper and star of FX's surprise hit Dave opens up about his regrets, what drives him, and the powerful source of all his anxieties. (Hint: It's in his pants.)
By Gabriella Paiella
Photography by Kevin Amato
When Dave Burd was first starting out, he would fly home to visit his folks in the Philadelphia suburbs. They would be sitting around the dining room table, as families do, and he would ask them the question that every grown son must at some point ask his parents.
Mom, Dad, do you think I'm a comic genius?
"We would say, 'No, not really. You're funny, but not really a comic genius,'" his mom, Jeanne Burd, recalls. "He'd be furious at us and this became an issue. He would bring it up in front of his friend, Benny. 'My mother and father don't even think I'm a comic genius.' And we'd be like, 'You're no Jerry Seinfeld. But you're funny.'"
His friend Benny, the producer and hitmaking songwriter Benny Blanco, remembers this too. "Oh my God," he says. "He'd be like, 'Mom, Dad, am I a genius?' And they'd be like, 'Eh.'"
This was back in his twenties, when Burd was primarily known as Lil Dicky, commandeering the internet with viral comedy rap songs like "Ex-Boyfriend" (about a man stricken with insecurity after meeting his girlfriend's handsome ex), "Lemme Freak" (about a man who's sexually frustrated within the confines of a long-term relationship), and "Classic Male Pregame" (about a man pregaming with other men). Crucially, this was before he created Dave, a more-than-semi-autobiographical show in which he plays a guy named Dave, working under the rap name Lil Dicky, who believes he is destined to become one of the greatest hip hop artists of all time.
It's not that his parents' reluctance to call him a genius diminished Burd's belief in himself. But they are his favorite people on earth and still the first ones he consults when he has to make any major life decisions. It was rare that they disagreed with him about anything.
Eventually, he got the answer he was looking for. "When his show came out, I finally said to him, 'Okay, I really think you're a comic genius,'" Jeanne says. "I was blown away by it, to tell you the truth. I was really impressed." Well, by most of it. "I have to say, episode three, when he's screwing the doll, I could have lived without that," she adds. "Considering that I saw that at the premiere with no warning whatsoever in front of 600 people."
And, hey, the world seemed to love it too. Dave quickly became FX Networks' most watched comedy show ever, ahead of acclaimed classics like Atlanta and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, enjoyed by audiences and pleasantly surprised critics alike.
Let me tell you about my own personal Dave journey. Early in the pandemic, the ads for the show followed me around the internet relentlessly: Burd as a sentient penis, with his mop of curly hair and beard, popping out of a pair of boxer briefs and giving a dopey thumbs up. I had already watched all of television at that point but, come on, a series about an obnoxious white internet rapper? A couple more months passed and I accepted that I wasn't going to get ripped or achieve inner peace or whatever it was that people were doing. There was no harm in trying out an episode. You know, ironically.
Overalls, $1,700, by S.R. Studio. L.A. C.A. Sweater, $99, by COS. Sneakers, $790, by Gucci. Socks, $22 (for pack of 6), by Nike.
But then Dave was funny. Funny in that aggressive, unabashed, vulgar way you rarely see anymore. It provided a fuller look into Burd that you couldn't get from a three-minute song, with a healthy dose of self-deprecation to make his whole deal more palatable. Scratch the surface of the crass jokes and you'd find meditations on masculinity and mental health, personal relationships and privilege. If I started Dave a skeptic, by the finale I had the zeal of a convert. I would later realize that the hardest I laughed in 2020 was watching Dave lose control of his bowels during a hike.
"I'm glad you said that," Burd says, grinning from his Venice, Los Angeles home. The 33-year-old is wearing a pale pink tie-dye sweatshirt and periodically sipping from a bottle of Martinelli's sparkling apple juice. "I'd never seen actual shit on TV, you know what I mean?"
He proceeds to eagerly let me in on some television magic. First, there was a machine specially built to simulate Dave getting diarrhea—who says American innovation is dying?—but it broke as soon as he strapped it to his back. Enter post-production, which involved CGI and endless rounds of notes. "At first, I was really unhappy with the look and feel of the shit," he explains. "I had to send pictures of shit and Google 'diarrhea' and be like, 'Well, I think it needs to be a little bit thicker, it looks too much Coca-Cola right now.' There was a whole thread and such serious, long paragraphs describing it."
Hidden in that stream of CGI shit is the key to Burd's success. He's fanatical, approaching moments high and low with the same degree of meticulousness. When we speak in May, he's in the process of editing season two of Dave, grinding out minimum 10 hour days, seven days a week.
Burd is an extremely affable person, which can obscure the fact that this rigor extends to all aspects of his life. When he makes music, he's not enjoying himself at late-night studio sessions. "I wake up at 8:30 a.m.," he says. "I treat it like school. I've never even written a lyric past sundown." He has a girlfriend now, his first in seven years, but when he was single, he would make sure to schedule a date per week. "I'm at the age where if I can't envision a real future then it's a total waste of time," he says. "When you go on every first date and you're thinking, Is this my wife? That's a tough way to be."
Much has been made of middle class millennials' obsession with productivity and ambition, and Burd might as well be the poster child for this affliction. "Every moment I'm like, how can I optimize this?" he tells me. "How can I maximize my happiness? How can I maximize the potential of this cut? How can I maximize this afternoon? How can I maximize my talent?"
The show is one way. Dave has catapulted him from a frat-friendly internet sensation with a controversial past to an entertainer with broad cultural appeal. It walks a fine and tricky line, politically incorrect, while offering Burd up as the object for our laughter—a clueless denizen attempting to navigate the modern world with almost pathological honesty. Offscreen, his whole life is a series of similar balancing acts. He finds himself torn between wanting to make people laugh and wanting to be considered a serious rapper. He wants to make no-holds-barred comedy and yet he hates offending people. He wants to be present for the people closest to him, which can be hard when he also has an overwhelming desire to be as successful as humanly possible.
And as for that last one, he's not even quite sure why. "I know that no matter what I do in terms of being a successful comedian, and if I won every Emmy and won every Grammy, it wouldn't make me feel any more satisfied," he says. "If I know that no amount of success will make me satisfied, why do I spend so much time trying to achieve the satisfaction?"
This degree of overthinking more or less hangs over Burd all the time. And to get to the root of it, we have to go all the way back to the day he was born.
Lil Dicky's $572,090 Shopping Spree
In the opening minutes of Dave**'s first season**, Dave is at the urologist's office. He's worried that he might have herpes. (Spoiler: It's razor burn.) Before he drops trou for the doctor, he lets out a lengthy preamble. "I just have, like, a very bizarre situation down—okay, when I was born, I came out of the womb with a tangled urethra so immediately they had to go in and do all types of surgery to it. As a result, there's so much scarring down there," he warns, before adding that "my dick is made of balls." A few episodes later, we learn that this condition is called hypospadias, which occurs when the opening to the urethra is located on the underside of the penis. It's also 100 percent true.
How did it feel to, well, expose himself like that? "It felt great," Burd tells me. "So top of mind, my whole life, was my penis." It profoundly affected him on both a physical level, from urinating blood to needing secondary surgeries, and a psychological one. "When I lost my virginity, my thought wasn't, I've lost my virginity!" he says. "My thought was like, My penis is functional."
Burd is certainly not the only man on earth driven by phallic anxiety—I would venture to guess that's the rule, not the exception—but he is more open about it than most. "I feel like me being born with this issue is the thing in my life that has defined my personality," he says. "It's caused me to be the way I am, the neurotic overthinking man that I've become."
As a child, overthinking meant OCD and spending 20 minutes every day doing elaborate rituals for a supreme being named "Spirit Chief" in order to ward off any family deaths. (Today it manifests as not falling asleep during Sports Center commercials. "If the commercial break is even broached or discussed, that counts as a commercial break and I have to wait for the whole break to come back and then I can go to bed," he explains.) He knew early on that he was good at making people laugh and he was willing to do anything to get that reaction, including pissing his pants in front of his friends. During summer camp as a child, the talent show ended one year with the kids chanting "We want Burd!" So he got up on stage and improvised.
"The feeling I got that day was immeasurable," he says. His big talent show appearance became an annual tradition—and a source of stress. "It quickly lost its joy when the entire first three weeks I'm thinking Fuck, what am I going to do this year?" he remembers. "It made me miserable by the end of it."
At work, the neurosis has a name: The No Stone Unturned Method. This means he must try out every single possible version of something, whether it's a lyric or a joke, before he's satisfied. "He's the worst person I've ever been in the studio with," Benny Blanco tells me. "But also the best person."
The flipside of his neurosis is stratospheric confidence. The co-creator of Dave, Jeff Schaffer, remembers the first time he met Burd: "He's talking to me, a stranger, about how he's going to be so huge. He's telling me he's going to be the biggest entertainer in the history of entertaining. And I'm like, Oh, he's delusional. This is great. I love this." Schaffer, who's also worked on Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm, adds that he sees "a lot of Larry" (that would be David) in Burd.
Burd insists that he's not arrogant. "I don't feel like I'm like, Fuck you, I'm the best," he says. "It's more just like"—and here he turns to gaze upwards beatifically, his curls practically aglow—"Wow, I'm the best."
He can pinpoint the exact day his confidence exploded. He was in his early twenties, working at an advertising agency in San Francisco. He had started in account management but got himself transferred to the creative team after sending the higher-ups on the Doritos account an MP3 file of himself rapping chip stats—a real-life, 21st century Peggy Olson. On the side, he was quietly filming a slew of comedy rap videos that he planned to strategically drop on a weekly basis. His parents tried to stage an intervention before he went public, convinced that he would ruin his life and future career prospects. Burd steamrolled ahead. The morning he released his first single, "Ex-Boyfriend," he remembers staring in the mirror while brushing his teeth and just weeping with relief. It was an immediate hit, racking up over one million views on YouTube in 24 hours.
"I was always very self believing, but to see it work the first day like that, it made me totally like Kanye-like in my self belief," he says.
Still, the plan was never to become a full-time rapper. The rap was meant to be a vehicle for his comedy, the way other people did standup—something that would get him in the room with producers. But then he released an album, 2015's Professional Rapper, and in 2016, he was even anointed on XXL's annual Freshman cover, alongside Lil Uzi Vert and 21 Savage. He never thought he would perform live, and here he was, going on tour. "Nothing gives me more anxiety than the idea of doing karaoke in front of my friends," he says. "But also, you should know I hate concerts. I don't like going to concerts. I don't know why people go to concerts. I can't relate to the activity of wanting to stand for two hours amongst other people and hear music that's not at the quality that you'd hear when you listen with your headphones."
Technically, his original scheme worked, though Dave's success doesn't mean he's ready to call it quits in his rap career. Burd is currently about three quarters done with a new album and leaning towards more straightforward rap. His earlier stuff feels embarrassing to him. "When I initially started, there was probably more of a desperation to just have something get attention, just so I could get noticed," he says. "Which is probably not the right way to make music. Now I feel like I have more pride in the art of songwriting and making good songs."
If you're wondering what business a white Jewish kid from a well-off Philadelphia suburb has trying to break into a historically Black art form based on struggle, so have many others. In the New York Times, the critic Jon Caramanica wrote that Burd's music is "a lumpy jumble of entitlement and irony," adding that his "forever-arched eyebrow serves as a distancing mechanism, a tool to put him beyond reproach, regardless of the scale of his racial infractions." Salon, not mincing words, called him "the sociopath's answer to Macklemore."
Burd himself has rethought some of his work. He removed the YouTube video for "White Dude," a song which extols how awesome it is to be a white man instead of a woman or a person of color. "Even though I knew I was never serious with it and it was just a joke, it just didn't feel like a joke I was proud of," he says. "And I don't like making jokes I'm not proud of."
He attributes this change of heart to growing up and spending time with people from other walks of life. This includes Davionte Ganter, aka GaTa, his hypeman in reality and on the show, who is Black. (One of the best, most lauded episodes of the first season focuses on GaTa's struggles with bipolar disorder.) I mention the ongoing conversation around Burd and cultural appropriation to GaTa and ask if the two have ever talked about it. "No. But a lot of people were rubbed the wrong way about some things that he said or whatever the case may be with his music. At the end of the day, I can't stop my friend from being himself," he tells me. "That's one of the most genuine things about Lil Dicky. He is himself at all times. I respect people that don't bottle up things because at the same time there's people that'll say some things, but you will never hear them publicly."
Sweater, $200, by Y.T.G. Shirt, $73, by 4funkyflavours. Pants, $80, by Calvin Klein. Slippers, his own.
When I ask GaTa to tell me a story that's emblematic of his friendship with Burd, he immediately shares about the time when another friend of his got shot six times and landed in the hospital. "Dicky sent food to the hospital for my friend and his family for two weeks," he says. "Dicky don't know nothing about gang violence or nothing that's going on like that, but he saw how it affected me. I was just like, Man, Dicky a real genuine dude."
In 2018, Burd released a single with Chris Brown called "Freaky Friday." The premise is that he and Brown switch bodies: the ultra-famous R&B singer gets the chance to live in peaceful anonymity for the day, while Dicky gets to enjoy the fruits of a luxurious lifestyle and gleefully say the n-word multiple times (Brown is the one actually singing it). It's arguably more offensive than "White Dude," not least of all because Brown has a history of domestic violence accusations.
Burd stands by the song. "With Chris Brown, we can do one of two things: We can never hear from him again and say 'I won't accept any Chris Brown whatsoever,' or I feel like we can allow him to use his talent for good," he says. "When I see people react to the song, I really think that it makes people laugh and it makes people happy. I don't think it's the type of thing that really is making the world a worse place, on a micro-specific, talking-about-the-song level." (Later on in the conversation, he adds: "A song like 'Freaky Friday,' let's be honest about it—it's a fucking global smash hit. It sounds like a hit. If you're not even listening to the lyrics, it literally has the palette of a hit.")
The fact that he can't have it both ways is something that Burd is still learning. "I'm aware of how insensitive my art can be, but I'm a very sensitive person and I hate offending people," he says. "If I see anybody that's offended by something I'm doing, it really hurts my heart, truly."
Burd knows he's not for everyone … but he also thinks he might be. He prefaces what he says next by admitting that it sounds crazy. "I'm very confident that if I had 10 hours to spend with somebody, that they would like me. There have been very few instances in my life where someone has known me and disliked me," he says. "Yet a ton of people, understandably so, would dislike me as an artist or me as a comedian."
Here, he turns reflective. "I think it all comes back to the root of why I do comedy in the first place, why I love making people laugh. Because I want people to like me," Burd admits. "I like that feeling. It's probably ingrained in me as a child, that I'm seeking love." He's made peace with one thing, at least: "There's so many people on this earth that I'm not going to be able to spend any time with."
The writers' room for Dave is a little like group therapy, if Burd had 10 therapists exclusively laser-focused on him. He sits there and bares his soul. He tells them his innermost thoughts and presents them with all of his flaws. Then they work together to unpack them and transform them into comedy.
Jeff Schaffer is one such person who has been let into the mysteries of Burd's psyche. "He's the smartest dumb person I know," Schaffer tells me.
"Just making sure..." I ask him. "You don't mean the dumbest smart person?"
"Yeah," he says.
Schaffer adds that he's "continually amazed at the depth and shallowness" of Burd's knowledge. "It's amazing what he doesn't know, '' he says. "And it's amazing what he can do."
Burd, too, finds himself frequently musing about his depth. "Am I the deepest person or do I just lack depth entirely?" he says. "Am I deep or am I completely, not remotely deep?"
Sweater, $3,200, by Gucci. Pants, $74, by Topman. Sandals, $980, by Gucci. Socks, $290 by Gucci
The one big flaw Burd fixates on is his selfishness. It's something that Dave explored a bit in season one, but season two delves deeper and darker. It's less laugh-out-loud funny and more of an awkward excavation of creative pressure, the loneliness of being single after a long-term relationship ends, and feeling abandoned by your friends. Some of these themes come up in his new music too. He pulls out his phone and scrolls through his notes, listing them off: "Anxiety. Love. Being a good guy. Being a good person. Happiness. Not eating fruits or vegetables."
I wonder if there was a specific incident that got Burd to actively start trying to be a good person.
"I love my parents so much and there was a moment five years ago where my mom…" Here, his voice cracks. He starts tearing up at the memory. "I didn't do enough for her birthday and she pretty much explained to me that she felt unappreciated and it killed me," he continues. "I've always been very selfish and your parents love you unconditionally. Then, as an adult, to hear that from my mom as a person. I think feeling the guilt and the self-loathing that I felt from that moment has carried my soul."
If that moment marked a turning point in Burd's personal life, he can delineate his professional life as Before Dave and After Dave. Before, he felt as if nobody quite understood what he was capable of. Afterwards, he felt as if he had made it. He could exhale and relax a bit—or as relaxed as Burd can get. Creating season two felt better, maybe even fun. He's secure in the knowledge that he knows what he's doing. And of course there's his relationship, with a commercial producer he met right before the pandemic, and she understands him.
He is happy, truly happy. "I couldn't have had a better life and a more privileged and lucky life," Burd says. But! "But I can always find something to complain about. I have unbelievable ambitions that are ambitious even for ambitious people. In my heart, I feel like I can be one of the entertainers of our time."
PRODUCTION CREDITS:
Photographs by Kevin Amato
Production Assitance by Danielle Gruberger
Styled by John Mark
Hair by Pavy Olivarez using Living proof and Oiudad
Grooming by Golden Sunshyne using Atomic Beauty Cosmetics
*Special thanks to Sergio Perez and *The Great Western Steak & Hoagie Co.
Related Stories for GQBest of GQProfilesEntertainmentTVMusic
Entourage Is for the Girls
By P.E. Moskowitz
Derek Jeter Will Never Retire
By Brett Martin
26 TV Shows to Look Forward to in 2023
By Tara Ariano
The Best Cock Rings for Harder Hard-Ons
By Kate Sloan


text:
Fjälltrav (Arabis alpina) är en ört i familjen korsblommiga växter som växer i bergsområden i Europa, norra Afrika, centrala- och östra Asien och delar av Nordamerika. Den växer på grusig eller stenig mark, gärna kalkhaltig, till exempel längs bäckar.

Den blir upp till 40 cm hög, med en tät blomklase högst upp. Blommorna är vita, har 5 kronblad och är 7-8 mm breda. Rosettbladen är långa med tydliga tänder och klart urskiljbart skaft, medan de blad som sitter uppe på stammen saknar skaft och är stjälkomslutande.

Externa länkar
Den virtuella floran

IPNI • International Plant Names Index

Korsblommiga växter
Fj Växtindex

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Our precious Fraidy cat. This is a tribute BIGG Success Show/blog post to him. We lost him on July 2, 2015. Click PLAY to listen.
We did our show today as a tribute to a member of our BIGG team – our little cat Fraidy.
We called him our Producer Kitty because, whenever we were recording, it seemed like he was always there.
You never heard him. He kept quiet.
But he seemed to want to make sure he approved of the quality of every one of our shows and other productions.
Last week, he was suddenly and surprisingly taken from us. We want to celebrate his life here and share some lessons we learned from Fraidy. He was a master marketer.
We'll also share a poem which will help you get to know how he got his name. Here are Fraidy's seven tips on how to attract and retain customers for life.
[Mary-Lynn] Fraidy was a stray before we got him. He suddenly appeared in my sister's neighborhood. But it wasn't long before he got to know who had a soft spot for him. He had four or five "customers" who would put out food for him every day. My sister was one of them.
Fraidy didn't have to scrounge for food because he learned quickly who would take care of him.
It's a great lesson for all of us. You don't need everyone to do business with you.
Find people who appreciate you for who you are, what you do, and how you do it.
Focus on making them happy. Then find more people like them.
It's not about crowds. It's very personal.
As we mentioned earlier – if we were in the BIGG Studio, Fraidy was right there with us.
If we were in our family room, he was too.
If we went outside, he wanted to be outside.
If we came back in, he wanted to be in.
If they're on Facebook, be on Facebook.
If they're on Twitter, be on Twitter.
It doesn't mean you try to jump into them all all at once.
It means you strategically roll out your online branches much like you would conduct an expansion in the real world.
If you're a cat owner, you've probably experienced this – every cat we've ever had loves tuna. Whenever we've made tuna salad, we suddenly got really popular. And they get really vocal about getting a share.
Oh, he loved tuna. And he was very visible – you could feel his presence.
But that was it. He would just wait patiently and quietly. Of course, we felt obliged to give such a good kitty a treat.
You don't have to shout to attract customers. In fact, shouting turns people off.
For example, you make a new connection on LinkedIn. They immediately come at you loud and proud about their services.
Doesn't that turn you off?
Show some patience. Build a relationship. Be helpful. Business will follow.
Whenever we started preparing dinner, Fraidy made his way to the kitchen. When we went to bed, Fraidy came to the bed.
[George] I still haven't figured out how he did it. Sometimes, we would purposely try to sneak into bed. But Fraidy always sensed it somehow. He would love on one of us and then the other.
Know your customer's schedules, patterns, and cycles. Customers may experience seasonality. Some people like to do business early in the week. Others late.
Know when it's really important to be seen. Lay a little low at other times so you don't wear out your welcome. This will help you retain customers for life.
Fraidy slept less than any pet we have ever had. Why? Because he might miss out on some loving!
Of course, you have to sleep. But that's not really what we're talking about.
The point is that you have to be alert. You need to be aware.
Make sure your ears aren't asleep! Listen. Really listen.
Your customers will cue you in to opportunities to serve them. But you have to be attentive.
[Mary-Lynn] On those occasions when Fraidy wasn't around at supper time, I would simply say "Suppers Fraidy" with a certain inflection in my voice. He would come running.
Know when your customers are talking to YOU. Pay special attention then. They may be ready to put food on your table.
And don't litter your communications with your lingo; get to know theirs. Speak to them on their terms, terms they understand.
Fraidy purred often and loud. It didn't take much to get him going.
He let you know he appreciated your attention. And it made you want to give him more loving.
It's amazing how many places you can go today and not even get a simple "thank you" for the business.
Make sure this is ingrained in your people and your processes.
Go out of your way to show your customers how much you appreciate them and you'll retain more customers for life.
We'd like to close with a little poem we wrote. Before we read it, we'd just like to thank YOU for joining us for this tribute to our special boy.
Did he think he was human? Or we were cats?
All he wanted was a bit of love.
Sweet and thoughtful. I'm so sorry for the loss of your darling Fraidy cat. I think it's wonderful you were able to compare how we should treat our customers to how Fraidy behaved. RIP Fraidy.