The Center for Civil and Human Rights has awarded three fellowships in support of Notre Dame law students pursuing public interest work. The 2018 CCHR Summer fellows are Tom Dwyer, Bill Green, and Jessica Skocik.
Tom Dwyer, a second-year student with prior experience in public housing administration and community reentry programs, will serve as an intern at the Sargent Shriver Poverty Law Center in Chicago. The Shriver Center engages in both litigation and legislative advocacy, focused on combatting the root causes of poverty. Dwyer will spend the summer helping shape the organization's advocacy efforts.
Bill Green, also a second-year student at Notre Dame Law School, will work with Illinois' Office of the State Appellate Defender (OSAD). Green has previous experience with advocacy on behalf of individuals seeking adequate health coverage, as well as those facing eviction from their homes. At OSAD, Green will work in defense of indigent clients in criminal and delinquent minor proceedings.
Jessica Skocik has secured an internship with the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) at the Department of Justice, which is responsible for protecting children from sexual exploitation in various forms. Skocik will assist in investigations and prosecutions, with a major focus on human trafficking cases involving minors. Her fellowship is made possible in part thanks to the generous support of the Pasquale Family Endowment for Excellence.
The CCHR Summer Fellowship is open to first and second-year Notre Dame Law Students for legal work that promotes civil rights and/or the enforcement of federal rights on behalf of underrepresented minorities. CCHR Summer Fellows organize an event at Notre Dame to educate their fellow students upon returning to campus in the Fall.
Originally published by Kevin Fye at humanrights.nd.edu on April 18, 2018.


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Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert
My sons (16 and 14) get all of what news they get from the Jon Stewart show and the Colbert Report, on Comedy Central. They often bring up something that was said there, as if it were simply true.
All I know about Stewart is his famous "confrontation" with Crossfire talking head Tucker Carlson, where Stewart said: "No. No. I'm not going to be your monkey." And Stewart also said, about his show and why people watch it for political news, "We have civilized discourse."
And, of course, Stewart ended his petulant school-marm-grabs-little-Tuckie-by-the-ear lecture with this exchange:
CARLSON: What's it like to have dinner with you? It must be excruciating. Do you like lecture people like this or do you come over to their house and sit and lecture them; they're not doing the right thing, that they're missing their opportunities, evading their responsibilities?
STEWART: If I think they are.
CARLSON: I wouldn't want to eat with you, man. That's horrible.
STEWART: I know. And you won't. But the thing I want to get to...
BEGALA: We did promise naked pictures of the Supreme Court justices.
CARLSON: Yes, we did. Let's get to those.
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: They're in this book, which is a very funny book.
STEWART: Why can't we just talk -- please, I beg of you guys, please.
CARLSON: I think you watch too much CROSSFIRE.
We're going to take a quick break.
STEWART: No, no, no, please.
CARLSON: No, no, hold on. We've got commercials.
STEWART: Please. Please stop.
CARLSON: Next, Jon Stewart in the "Rapid Fire."
STEWART: Please stop.
CARLSON: Hopefully, he'll be here, we hope, we think.
CARLSON: Welcome back to CROSSFIRE.
We're talking to Jon Stewart, who was just lecturing us on our moral inferiority.
Jon, you're bumming us out. Tell us, what do you think about the Bill O'Reilly vibrator story?
STEWART: I'm sorry. I don't.
CARLSON: Oh, OK.
STEWART: What do you think?
BEGALA: Let me change the subject.
STEWART: Where's your moral outrage on this?
CARLSON: I don't have any.
STEWART: I know.
Oh, snap! What a cool guy! Gag me, please. I actually don't think
anyone was confused, Jon: Crossfire was an entertainment show, professional wrestling for wonks. Your little lecture was sad, and you are a pathetic, preening poseur.
Anyway, I did decide to see how Stewart and his boy, Colbert, were doing on the moral outrage front. Since Stewart wants more moral outrage, I mean.
So, I watched the Thursday, August 3, 2006 edition of both programs at 8 pm EDT (yes, those are reruns of the 11 pm live version from August 2; sue me).
THE JON STEWART SHOW
I have to admit, I did also know this, going in:
4-01-2004 -- Fake and scathing 1, fair and balanced 0. CNN and MSNBC have gotten used to losing to Fox News. But during the Democratic primaries, an unexpected foe stole the ratings crown from all three. The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, a mock news program airing on Viacom's (VIA) Comedy Central, attracted more viewers at 11 p.m. than any of the cable news channels in the last two weeks of January, outdoing Fox by 20 percent even as the news network was running live campaign coverage. Stewart's fake news show has won ever-growing audiences with help from real politico guests like John McCain, Hillary Clinton, and John Edwards.
So, I'm not so sure he can really leave the moral outrage to others.
Anyway, my "review" of the Aug 3 8 pm EDT showing:
1. He said "fuck" four times. It was bleeped out, but his lips said it clearly, and it wasn't really bleeped out very effectively. Saying "fuck", for a comic, is a lot like calling your opponents Nazis in a debate. It means you aren't very smart, and don't have any real things to say.
2. There was also a graphic, up nearly constantly, that showed "10th fucking (something or other" that was supposed to have significance for fans.
3. He said shit once, that I caught.
Remember, this is on standard cable, at 8 pm. I am glad to let the boy be potty mouth, if he wants, but why does he have to pretend to be a real news show, and then work as hard as he can to make it seem like the concept of news itself is boring unless you say "fuck" a lot. Well, and "shit."
The first segment was about President Bush, being fat. Stewart called him a "fat fuck," facing full on into the camera. It made me proud to be an American. I'm glad that my sons get to be exposed to such an enlightening display.
Why would we expect civility in discourse, which Stewart says he wants, when tomorrow's generation of voters are being told the President is a fat fuck?
The second segment was a montage of interviews from Florida. Excellent stuff, very funny, I did laugh out loud. Just letting people be themselves. The Republican congressional hopeful from Florida who sang the rap sang about gays, and cocaine, was excellent. And the lap dancer...and the woman who wants to ban Satan. Nice television. One thumb up, at least.
The final segment was Chris Paine, and his omni-present "Who killed the electric car?" movie promo. Still, the questions were fine, and Paine is a smart guy. I have to give Paine credit, he noted that independent carmakers could produce electric cars, and would as soon as it was truly economical to do so. Still, I wondered why he (or Mr. Civility, the host) didn't announce they were starting a new electric car company. If it's that easy to do, and you could make money, why not do the free media thing and announce it on the show? Maybe it is NOT that easy? Maybe the fact that no one has produced a commercially successful electric car means something other than a grandiose capitalist conspiracy. Still, Paine has some good points, and I'll probably see the movie.
All in all, this is a 7 out of 10. Without the hypocrisy about civilized discourse, I might even have thought the "fat fuck" bit was funny. But if you go on other entertainment shows and give them lectures about morality, you have to have standards yourself.
I was really prepared to hate this, a lot. The guy who went looking for Mr. Goodwrench, doing political comentary? He is such a gut-wrenchingly horrible guy.
Starts with a bit about the empty chair for Senator Lieberman, and a box of Cocoa Puffs. And some sort of running gag about milk, and nausea. Then a skit about the "on-notice board." This was as bad a skit as I have ever seen on TV. Saturday Night Live would not have run a skit this lame even if Regis Philbin were the host and they were looking for philler.
Then, the segment on "The Word," apparently a regular feature. Pretty darned funny. Quick, witty, clever. Excellent stuff.
Then, some calls from "listeners." I assumed an outbreak of lameness was imminent, but it was great. Colbert is actually a good actor, as long as he gets to shtay in his shtick, and the callers did a good job, too. Way better than such a lame concept should have been. Nicely done.
Finally, a guest "interview": Linda Hirschman, flogging her book on why woman should work outside the home. It's called, GET TO WORK. Colbert actually does this bizarre, anorexic Benny Hill dance on his way over to the interview table, and then does a moderately serious interview.
Hirschman actually said, at one point, that all of western philosophy was on her side, and that women should work because if you read western philosophy that's what it says. I'm paraphraising, but that's pretty close. Well, my own reading of Aristotle (for example) would say that "Silence is a woman's glory." (Politics, Bk I, pt 8). Linda H didn't really take THAT part of western philosophy very seriously. Hirschman was incredibly sure of herself, and her own ability uniquely to dictate right and wrong to other women. But to give her credit, she made some valid points, and was brave, given the atmosphere. She summarized her claim this way (again, not quoting exactly): we need to move toward the middle. Men should feel free to spend more of their time on children, and women should feel free to spend less on children, and more on work outside the home. Except she didn't mean it; Hirschman clearly thinks that if women only work inside the home, then a squad of long-haired men and short-haired women should visit and reeducate them.
Colbert did ask some pretty pointed, but useful questions. His best shot, which was exactly right, was: You just want others to have to want what you want. Why can't they want what they want? Why isn't staying home and raising children a perfectly valid choice? (Full disclosure: my wife is an attorney, full time, and has been straight through except for two maternity leaves. I am the cook in the family. So I agree with Hirschman, at least to the extent that I want women to have the OPTION of working outside the home, and I agree also that husbands are obliged to accomodate that choice if that is what the wife wants).
But Colbert also just made fun and constantly interrupted Hirschman, and made me much more sympathetic to her personally than I was to her totalitarian arguments.
Still, you know what this reminded me of? One person trying to score debating points, and another person interrupting and making fun of them? It was just like....Crossfire.
I have expected the moral authority of the universe, Jon Stewart, to come in and lecture Colbert on the importance of civility. But for some reason it didn't happen.
Posted by Mungowitz at 8/04/2006 04:27:00 PM 13 comments: Links to this post
Minimum Wage Follies
One has to laugh at the jabber about the minimum wage. I don't think that raising the minimum wage does much harm, so maybe it's not a big deal. But it is offensive that nearly all the harm falls on those who the measure is supposed to help, the economically marginal.
And nearly all the benefits accrue to union workers, and people who make high wages, because now their pay is not so out of line, and they are better substitutes for unskilled workers.
1. Very few workers work at minimum wage. I never did. I often worked two jobs, to pay for college. Construction, unloading timbers at a lumber yard, laying sod, working in orange groves. And if you work at minimum wage for more than a year or two, without getting a raise, you have other problems (productivity, attitude, attendance difficulties, etc). It is not clear that raising the minimum wage is the best way to help such desperately marignal people.
2. Job loss, job gentrification
From the EPI site, propaganda arm for white middle class union workers who are the actual chief beneficiaries of the minimum wage increase:
There is no evidence of job loss from the last minimum wage increase.
A 1998 EPI study failed to find any systematic, significant job loss associated with the 1996-97 minimum wage increase. In fact, following the most recent increase in the minimum wage in 1996-97, the low-wage labor market performed better than it had in decades (e.g., lower unemployment rates, increased average hourly wages, increased family income, decreased poverty rates).
Studies of the 1990-91 federal minimum wage increase, as well as studies by David Card and Alan Krueger of several state minimum wage increases, also found no measurable negative impact on employment.
New economic models that look specifically at low-wage labor markets help explain why there is little evidence of job loss associated with minimum wage increases. These models recognize that employers may be able to absorb some of the costs of a wage increase through higher productivity, lower recruiting and training costs, decreased absenteeism, and increased worker morale.
A recent Fiscal Policy Institute (FPI) study of state minimum wages found no evidence of negative employment effects on small businesses.
The minimum wage increase in the late 1990s was during one of the greatest economic booms in human history. Basically no one was making minimum wage, and so it is hardly surprising that there was no measurable job loss. It was really hard to find workers even at higher wages.
The Card and Krueger analysis is discredited. They themselves recanted, no one claims that specific industries go one way or the other, and the minimum wage increase differentially harmed mom and pop pizza shops, and helped McDendy's and Taco Hell: franchises face more inelastic demand, because of advertising. And, fast food prices in New Jersey (home of the C&K mythology) rose much faster than in surrounding states over the study period.
Finally, the unemployment rate among African-American teenagers is approaching 30%. In many parts of the nation, the unemployment rate among adults (if you count people who have given up looking for work, and account for the fact that we jail people for minor crimes that wouldn't be committed if they had more economic opportunities) is not much lower. If you have no job experience, and no sense of the need to show up for work on time, dressed properly and with an attitude that customers are your boss, you won't EVER have a job. The unemployment rate only measures people who have LOOKED for a job in recent past. Minimum wage increases mean that search is hopeless for anyone who would have been employed at $5.15, but not at $7.25. What is the effect on the measured unemployment rate? Zero! That poor teenager never even bothers to look for a job. We can always build more jails, though. (A screed from the OTHER EPI)
So, anyway, I really don't mind the minimum wage increase. We should just call it the "Legislation To Increase the Salaries of Middle Class White Union Workers Who Contribute Big Bucks to Ted Kennedy." Then, at least we would be honest about who is benefitting.
(you might check the very nice WSJ article by David R. Henderson, which got me thinking about this. Yeah, it's for subscribers. Waddya want for nothing, rubber biscuit?)
UPDATE: Dirty Davey makes a good point: restoring the real minimum wage is different from actually raising it. I worked on this a bit over at Div of Labour.
It's hard to leave when you can't find the Doha
Danny D eulogizes, but does not bury, Doha.
And a nice post on WTO and Doha from PKK.
His conclusion:
In total, a number of countries must share responsibility for the breakdown. Brazil and other Third World food exporters probably were too ambitious on behalf of the developed countries, India refused to accept more competition in its comparatively weak industries, and the US position remained opaque while the country for too long hid behind the protectionist positions of other member states. However, the bottom line is that the main culprit - the member bearing most of the responsibility - is the European Union. The problem continues to be that the official policy of the union is controlled by Southern European countries with strong agricultural lobbies - and the policy is therefore rather clearly dictated by Paris. French top politicians have throughout the negotiations 'protected' French farmers against cuts in tariffs or support measures - Jacques Chirac and Dominique de Villepin both went on air in national media to ensure their voters that France would veto any liberalization - which makes the country the Global Public Enemy Number One. Yet, another part of the story that needs to be told is that other EU members also made an indirect effort. The EU as a whole and traditionally liberalist countries such as the UK and Denmark in particular are all accomplices. We are guilty of both crimes and misdemeanours but the worst crime of them all is that we are actively preventing poor countries from gaining extra opportunities to lift themselves out of deep poverty. If justice exists in this world, future historians will not look kindly on today's political letdown.
(just so it doesn't drive you crazy, song snippet in the title is from Joe Walsh's "Life's Been Good to Me". I bring it up because that song has one of the very best list of misheard lyrics. Hilarious).
Imports are always a good, by definition
Mercantilist thinking lives on, 230 years after it should have died.
The Flemish Beerdrinker lays out the truth.
Adam Smith had it right:
Observe the accommodation of the most common artificer or day-labourer in a civilized and thriving country, and you will perceive that the number of people of whose industry a part, though but a small part, has been employed in procuring him this accommodation, exceeds all computation. The woollen coat, for example, which covers the day-labourer, as coarse and rough as it may appear, is the produce of the joint labour of a great multitude of workmen. The shepherd, the sorter of the wool, the wool-comber or carder, the dyer, the scribbler, the spinner, the weaver, the fuller, the dresser, with many others, must all join their different arts in order to complete even this homely production. How many merchants and carriers, besides, must have been employed in transporting the materials from some of those workmen to others who often live in a very distant part of the country! how much commerce and navigation in particular, how many ship-builders, sailors, sail-makers, rope-makers, must have been employed in order to bring together the different drugs made use of by the dyer, which often come from the remotest corners of the world! What a variety of labour too is necessary in order to produce the tools of the meanest of those workmen! To say nothing of such complicated machines as the ship of the sailor, the mill of the fuller, or even the loom of the weaver, let us consider only what a variety of labour is requisite in order to form that very simple machine, the shears with which the shepherd clips the wool. The miner, the builder of the furnace for smelting the ore, the feller of the timber, the burner of the charcoal to be made use of in the smelting-house, the brick-maker, the brick-layer, the workmen who attend the furnace, the mill-wright, the forger, the smith, must all of them join their different arts in order to produce them. Were we to examine, in the same manner, all the different parts of his dress and household furniture, the coarse linen shirt which he wears next his skin, the shoes which cover his feet, the bed which he lies on, and all the different parts which compose it, the kitchen-grate at which he prepares his victuals, the coals which he makes use of for that purpose, dug from the bowels of the earth, and brought to him perhaps by a long sea and a long land carriage, all the other utensils of his kitchen, all the furniture of his table, the knives and forks, the earthen or pewter plates upon which he serves up and divides his victuals, the different hands employed in preparing his bread and his beer, the glass window which lets in the heat and the light, and keeps out the wind and the rain, with all the knowledge and art requisite for preparing that beautiful and happy invention, without which these northern parts of the world could scarce have afforded a very comfortable habitation, together with the tools of all the different workmen employed in producing those different conveniencies; if we examine, I say, all these things, and consider what a variety of labour is employed about each of them, we shall be sensible that without the assistance and co-operation of many thousands, the very meanest person in a civilized country could not be provided, even according to what we very falsely imagine, the easy and simple manner in which he is commonly accommodated.
If someone else can provide you with stuff you want more cheaply than you can make it for yourself, it makes you better off if the government allows you to buy it from that other source.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Photos: Akash Ambani engaged to Shloka Mehta in Goa
Akash Ambani Gets Engaged to Shloka Mehta,. (Image Credit: Sloka Mehta/Instagram)
'I have known Shloka since she was four and we are all delighted to welcome her to our home and our hearts.' Said Nita Ambani
26 March 2018 12:28 pm 26 March 2018 12:28 pm
Mukesh Ambani's eldest son akash ambani proposed to his longtime friend shloka mehta on March 23, 2018, at a function in Goa. Shloka Mehta is the youngest daughter of one of India's leading diamantaires, Russell Mehta who owns the company Rosy Blue.
In an interview to a newspaper, Nita Ambani confirmed that they are set to marry soon. Akash posted a few photos of the ceremony on his Instagram page. The photos suggest the ceremony took place in a beautiful garden which was only attended by close family members.
How it all started!
Akash and Shloka did their schooling from the prestigious Dhirubhai Ambani International School situated in Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai. On graduating he went on to study at the Brown University, one of the worlds most recognized and sort after universities.
On the other hand, Shloka completed her bachelor's in anthropology from Princeton University. For her master's she opted to learn Law from the renowned London School of Economics and Political Science. Presently, both of them are involved in their respective family-owned businesses.
The entire family along with Shloka visited the Siddi Vinayaka Temple in Mumbai during the weekend and took the blessings of the Lord.
Akash sits on the board of Reliance Jio and Shloka is the Director of Rosy Blue Foundation. Apart from that, she has co-established an institution named ConnectFor that aims to gather volunteers for different causes the NGOs take up.
The wedding is rumored to take place during the first week of December at the Oberoi Hotel in Mumbai with the guest list ranging from politicians and major business owners to big names in the film and sports industry.
The celebrations leading up to this big fat Indian wedding will span across four to five days.
Nita Ambani too posted the below picture of the lovely couple on her Instagram page.


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Home » Celebrities » OMG, Prince Harry Releases Heated Texts Between Princess Catherine & Meghan Markle – DETAILS!
OMG, Prince Harry Releases Heated Texts Between Princess Catherine & Meghan Markle – DETAILS!
10/01/2023 Comments Off on OMG, Prince Harry Releases Heated Texts Between Princess Catherine & Meghan Markle – DETAILS!
If you thought the Prince Harry drama was over, think again! There are a lot more bombshells coming the royal family's way — and this one right here is a biggie!
Harry has already taken plenty of shots at his brother Prince William in his new memoir Spare, out on Tuesday, as well as in various promotional interviews. But now his next target is Princess Catherine AKA Kate Middleton.
In a new excerpt of the book obtained by Page Six on Monday afternoon, Harry digs into the now-infamous bridesmaid dress debate between Kate and his wife Meghan Markle. If you need a refresher, it was widely reported at the time that the Suits alum made her future sister-in-law cry in the lead-up to her wedding. During the couple's Oprah Winfrey sit-down special in 2021, the actress clapped back, insisting "the reverse happened." Now, her hubby is attempting to prove this is true.
A portion of Spare actually includes alleged text messages between the sisters-in-law over Kate's complaints about Princess Charlotte's dress, which was "not sufficient." According to the Archewell founder, Kate texted Meghan mere days before the ceremony about the dress, which was made from measurements before a fitting, writing:
"Charlotte's dress is too big, too long, too baggy. She cried when she tried it on a home."
The 41-year-old responded with a simple fix, saying:
"Right, and I told you the tailor has been standing by since 8am. Here. At KP. Can you take Charlotte to have it altered, as the other mums are doing?"
Instead of heading over to complete the alterations, the Princess of Wales supposedly demanded that "all the dresses be remade" and even discussed bringing up the issue with her own wedding designer, who apparently agreed with her. Meghan had NO interest in this, and not just because she didn't want to redo the dresses. She had bigger issues to deal with at the time, which she reminded Kate about. Harry wrote:
"Meg asked if Kate was aware of what was going on right now. With her father . Kate said she was well aware, but the dresses. And the wedding is in four days!"
Kinda a harsh response! At the time, the Archetypes podcast host was trying to deal with some complex family issues with her dad. Ahead of the 2018 wedding, Thomas made headlines for reportedly accepting money from a British paparazzo and staging photos of himself prepping for the big day. But then things got worse when TMZ published an article claiming he would NOT be walking his daughter down the aisle, and apparently, this is how the news was broken to the bride-to-be. To add onto all that, four days before the ceremony, Thomas was hospitalized due to a heart attack. It was a really messy and all-consuming time for the bride! And yet all Willy's wife cared about was… getting the dresses remade?? Insensitive AF!
Meghan texted back, saying:
"Yes, Kate, I know…."
LOLz! The 38-year-old went on to share that Kate had been having issues with other aspects of the wedding as well, which contributed to the feud, noting:
" problems with the way Meg was planning her wedding. Something about a party for the page boys? It went back and forth."
Eventually, Meg had to set a boundary, so she ended the text exchange with the Duchess of Cambridge by writing:
"I'm not sure what else to say. If the dress doesn't fit then please take Charlotte to see Ajay. He's been waiting all day."
Salty AF, Kate hit back with:
As for the tears, Harry recalled getting home that night to find his soon-to-be wife "on the floor" sobbing.
So far, Buckingham Palace has refrained from commenting, but considering they've never shied away from sticking up for Kate before (especially when it comes to this feud), we wonder if this will be their breaking point?? We know William is eager to clap back!
Thoughts, Perezcious readers? What do you think about Harry including this feud in his memoir? Let us know (below)!
Kate Middleton outraged and hurt by Prince Harrys book allegations
'I think it's happening': Baby born in emergency lane of Perth freeway


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IRIC - Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer
Importance of research
Platforms and infrastructures
Study at IRIC
Valorization
The molecular origin of the electrostatic gating of single-molecule field-effect biosensors investigated by molecular dynamics simulations.
Publication — IRIC
Field-effect biosensors (bioFETs) offer a novel way to measure the kinetics of biomolecular events such as protein function and DNA hybridization at the single-molecule level on a wide range of time scales. These devices generate an electrical current whose fluctuations are correlated to the kinetics of the biomolecule under study. BioFETs are indeed highly sensitive to changes in the electrostatic potential (ESP) generated by the biomolecule. Here, using all-atom solvent explicit molecular dynamics simulations, we further investigate the molecular origin of the variation of this ESP for two prototypical cases of proteins or nucleic acids attached to a carbon nanotube bioFET: the function of the lysozyme protein and the hybridization of a 10-nt DNA sequence, as previously done experimentally. Our results show that the ESP changes significantly on the surface of the carbon nanotube as the state of these two biomolecules changes. More precisely, the ESP distributions calculated for these molecular states explain well the magnitude of the conductance fluctuations measured experimentally. The dependence of the ESP with salt concentration is found to agree with the reduced conductance fluctuations observed experimentally for the lysozyme, but to differ for the case of DNA, suggesting that other mechanisms might be at play in this case. Furthermore, we show that the carbon nanotube does not impact significantly the structural stability of the lysozyme, corroborating that the kinetic rates measured using bioFETs are similar to those measured by other techniques. For DNA, we find that the structural ensemble of the single-stranded DNA is significantly impacted by the presence of the nanotube, which, combined with the ESP analysis, suggests a stronger DNA-device interplay. Overall, our simulations strengthen the comprehension of the inner working of field-effect biosensors used for single-molecule kinetics measurements on proteins and nucleic acids.
Côté S, Bouilly D, Mousseau N
PubMed reference
Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022;24(7):4174-4186
Département de Physique, Faculté des Arts et des Sciences, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada. sebastien.cote.4@umontreal.ca.
Marcelle-Coutu Pavilion
How to get to IRIC?
© 2003-2023 IRIC. All rights reserved.
Website by Principal


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Tag: Fletcher Pratt
The SFFaudio Podcast #535 – READALONG: The Pirates Of Ersatz by Murray Leinster
Monday, July 22, 2019 Jesse Willis	Leave a comment
The SFFaudio Podcast #535 – Jesse, Paul Weimer, Maissa Bessada, Julie Davis, and Terence Blake talk about The Pirates Of Ersatz by Murray Leinster
Talked about on today's show:
The Pirates Of Zan, translation, there's no planet named Ersatz, inferior substitute, pirate planet, a terrible pirate, a great pirate, a successful pirate, replacement pirates, Darth pirates, actors, so fun, The people of Walden are pirating themselves, Zan pirates, regular boring farming, he wanted adventure, cover with a slide rule in his teeth, he wanted to be an engineer, climbing into the boat, a stun pistol, Jesse read it 10 years ago, forgettable fun, comic novels, The Incomplete Enchanter by Fletcher Pratt and L. Sprague de Camp, Space Viking by H. Beam Piper, between the two poles, Joseph Andrews by Henry Fielding, a road trip, a means of pointing out flaws in society, "audiobooks are books, Paul", back when Jesse was angry about stuff on the internet, the same Kurt Vonnegut story: 2BOR02B, where the PDF Page came from, The Aliens by Murray Leinster read by Julie Davis, Forgotten Classics, you're welcome for the audiobook, the Astounding book, a nominee for the Hugo, Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein, Sirens Of Titan, definitely written for John W. Campbell, the competent man, a comedic novel, The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison, Deathworld by Harry Harrison, there are better con-men novels, with less infodumping, his tricks, not cheating as much as we might guess, Jesse is not an electrical engineer, everything is wirelessly charged, this is all very plausible (in theory), everyone is getting cooked with microwaves, magnetic coils, how romantic, a Tesla thing, a wireless radio without a battery, the radio waves themselves are the power, Julie wants no more details, the central problem and its resolution, a "death ray", being set-up, an unintended consequence, he wrapped it up nicely, virtually in suspense, the political/sociological heft, a little too pat, the ambassador and the grandfather are the Heinlein characters, the mental wisdom for Hodan, oh yeah, gotta bunch of wisdom to instill in this kid, Walden Pond, here's what comes from too much peace, stasis, civilization, the most civilized planet, frontier mentality, tranquilizing society, taking Oxycontin in their main hobby, the Captain Kirk of their society, an agent of chaos, he facilitates, some more of the embassies, the kind of Earth empire (not even a confederation), a larger universe, central authority, feudal chaos, different polities, a space patrol, The High Crusade by Poul Anderson, green-skinned aliens, the Krishna novels, fauna and flora, legalistic arguments down to a fine art, culturally sophisticated, the lord of this and the king of that, the bride of our hero, "this is the woman for you, dude", the angriest woman in the universe, Chekov's gun, Netta, the glamour of being associated with a pirate, cowing the barbarians, she wants to make a nice girl out of me, speaking of gender, the Gendered Text Project, suddenly everything's different, when Bree Hodan…, she was a delightful girl, the weirdest one, it changes the feel, a basic romance, non-binary, Bryn, hir room, zee went to bed, hir ambitions, zee'd be well to do, such prospects made for good sleeping, grandPARENT, what does this do to the original story, kind of like a Conan story, the fools all around them, a softer Conan story, a very weird concept (with that in mind), the male version of the book, Thor is female (or was), a female Wolverine, a novel of a capable man, a capable woman (a Mary Sue), unlikeable, fun and helpful, what happens to your perception, Derek was almost like a female character to begin with, backing into the piracy, originally funnier, who wants to go off an be a civil engineer?, messing around, a new company comes out, ebooks, the Adult version of Harry Potter, Harriet Potter, does that inform your writing, copyright laws, we need a new clause, Indian films, Ghajini (2008) is the Hindi version of Memento (2000), non-creative, zero-respect, the point of writing a book, nyah nyah nop eugh, Julian Assange being taken out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, shelter, citizenship, citizenship revoked, "crime", the science fiction romp frothiness vs. realpolitik, could that fictional embassy possibly exist?, how striking, shimmying down a rope, heat guns, a very Cory Doctorow thing, flashmobs, an ad on Craigslist: white wig and blue shirt, 10,000 Julian Assanges, embassy intrigue, not that kind of science fiction (really serious about politics), an adventure story, razed in a day, England and embassies, not so much pirates, Pirates Of Darth, the Danegeld, some viking will take them up on it, semi-civilized, William the Bastard, invading a neighbouring island (England), the really fun part, the homeless people are his fleet, sense of empathy, he'd been cheated, so angry, with the insurance, the bonuses, it's his character, a soft-hearted pirate, why'd you come to a poor place, the poor will give you everything, the underclass, high fleet admiral, against the elites, the Walden society is fucked up, Robert E. Howard's theories about civilization and barbarism, built-up capital, addiction and getting servants in to pick your crops, a built-in establishment likes they way things work out for them, not everyone is equally powerful, cops vs. judges, a critique of 1959 USA, a lot of lines like this, a lot of frothiness, the background buildup in the philosophy of the world, in cahoots, in support of that system, from the fourth paragraph, good writing, quite pretty, the highest in the Nurmi cluster, a supply of tranquilizers, the tigers aren't after us at this very moment, blackbears aren't super-dangerous, a bear up stuck in a tree, wealthy humans getting excited about a bear, so few bear skeletons found in trees, would they notice with one hand clapping?, straight thinking is a delusion, real things aint simple, aint clear, make it as complicated as you can, isn't that the way, we'll just do this to do that, that bit of wisdom, how politicians get out of hot water, death ray vs. he literally fell out of a tree, tying everything back in, luring them into understanding how it works, using them as a means to his end, in dealing with other peoples problems you can solve your problems, a helluva lot better neighbour, its not your business, US public healthcare would force Canada to go left, Jagmeet Singh, the US government can't administer Medicare very well, corruption, we have to up our game, Jesse is not wrong, Canada defines itself in opposition to the USA, Nice, France, from the outsiders outsiders point of view, how clear that question was, 42, Twitter as a medium of links and pictures, Gilles Deleuze, the grandfather's idea, piracy is good for the economy, things only work because they break down, piracy is a good think, a timid introverted poor student from Australia who went to France, a powerful thinker, what old guys thought might make sense, that history of failure is fascinating, see where someone else made this mistake a long time ago, 1987, an English teacher in a technical high-school, terminal, a couple of hours of philosophy a week, six or seven hours a week, general culture, written in the 1950s, this depiction of piracy, stasis vs. disorder, a product of its time?, relative stability, would people go for it?, a precarious situation, does this novel work today, Frederik Pohl, P. Schuyler Miller, adventure yarning, of piece of lightweight for entertainment purposes only, sneaks up on you, something funny about the names, Hodan like Odin, Bran, brain vs. brawn, Darth is dearth, things with the names, order and chaos, no longer applicable, capitalism is based on producing as much disorder as possible, Crim is the ultimate capitalist, Walden is sublimation, full of crackpots, for spite, a subtle sort of hidden intellectual side to the story, spot on, John Clute, "a competent but unremarkable space opera", a series of planetary romances, The Odyssey, picaresque, Penelope isn't delightful so he goes back with Circe, coming to mind, stasis vs. richness, Jesus: feel sorry for the rich man, a cyclical need, Jesse wants to read more of these, other Leinsters, The Forgotten Planet, A Logic Named Joe, Journey To Barkut, William F. Jenkins, one of the earliest science fiction writers of the pulp era, making a living, Police Your Planet by Lester del Rey, Badge Of Infamy, The Green Odyssey by Philip Jose Farmer, humans are pretty funny, a smelly barbarian queen, he delicately disassembled, a very nice sweeping line, one could spend a lifetime, absolutely true, industriously reading pirated books, so important, torrent site, not available in his region, deathbed conversion, sin-eater, something real about the piracy thing, the title is already a parody (of The Pirates Of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan), making fun of the romantic idea of piracy, the pirate nation known as the United States, Fred Himebaugh's pirate novel (with Blackbeard as president), USA maintains a shit list, yo ho ho and a bagful of books, Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, Laughing Shall I Die: Lives and Deaths of the Great Vikings by Tom Shippey, viking is a verb, you get a song out of it, heroic lifestyle, the Wild West, threats vs. warnings, we need an audiobook of this book, the last John W. Campbell story, angels, Alec Nevala-Lee, philosophy as a sort of science fiction, people are complex numbers existing on an imaginary axis, a last joke, Campbell's definition of science fiction, non-philosophy, he's gone beyond everyone, September 1971, On The Nature Of Angels, a pun, the really sad part, adhering the copyright law is hurting people, playing a little bit fast and loose, makes sense, a "sample", pirates are nice folks, generally helpful, helping the insurance industry, Walden to the nth level, sad story for them, romance adventure and derring-do, The Runaway Skyscraper by Murray Leinster, stf = scientificition, Jules Verne, Edgar Allan Poe, H.G. Wells, 40 years later, 1919 – 1959, LibriVox, on the lam, The Creatures Of The Abyss, good basic pulp-type story, Sidewise In Time, passenger pigeons are back, pulpy goodness, alternate histories, Star Trek, First Contact, here's an idea, poor Tom Godwin couldn't write his way out of a wet paper bag, thick accent that infests every sentence, getting more Leinster up.
Posted by Jesse Willis
The SFFaudio Podcast #535 - READALONG: The Pirates Of Ersatz by Murray Leinster [ 1:47:02 | 72.6 MB ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
The SFFaudio Podcast #474 – READALONG: Glory Road by Robert A. Heinlein
Monday, May 21, 2018 Jesse Willis	Leave a comment
The SFFaudio Podcast #474 – Jesse and Paul Weimer talk about Glory Road by Robert A. Heinlein
1963, 1964, better in memory?, horrible, so good, annoying, if you were to find these books in the public domain, editing out the annoying parts, Heinlein can't help himself, re-reads, trying to focus on the good things, what huh?, what are you doing here, not quite proper, cross-universe stories, eternal jams, a sequel to Glory Road, Fate's Trick by Mathew J. Castella, "A Crossroads Adventure", a 14 book series, Robert Silverberg, Xanth, Majipoor, Jody Lynn Nye, Steven Brust, choose your own adventure books, L. Sprague de Camp, Fletcher Pratt, as close to a choose your adventure as Heinlein came, Have Space Suit-Will Travel, Ellen Kushner, weird conclusions, TV Tropes is Wikipedia for tropes, a tribute novel, those books I read as a kid, Dagwood sandwich, good art, brain uploading, the egg, an African American protagonist?, the F&SF covers, Robin Hood-looking dude, surprise Filipino, Tunnel In The Sky, set in the then contemporary world, cultural assumptions, Oscar Gordon, no evidence for that in the book, have you got to the part with the realization yet?, the big surprise, the key scene in this novel, the opening quotation, George Bernard Shaw, his experience with the Dural customs and morality, author tract, the broader setting seems only to exist to praise the authors views, crappy dialogues, "I'm going to spank you", somebody's personal morality is tripped and triggered, obsession, its in every book, "I'm going to marry you…no we can't get married" for 14 pages, losing control, Iowa to Colorado, the banality of Iowa, the first publication introduction, figure skater, cat-midwife, Isaac Asimov, Starship Soldier, an adventure story, a romance, other worlds – other manners, full of references, incredibly brilliant, wrong in so many ways, it's not that I haven't had sex with a married man's wife under his own roof…, he wanted to be a wife-swapper, baked in so deeply, the whole universe of Nivea, Heinleinian fantasy land, the island in France, le minimum, nudism, he can't help but talk about it all the time, nudity and nudity taboos, A Princess Of Mars, the conventions of American morality are wrong, freely given, "I'm a dirty tramp" every three pages, objectified and off-put at the thought of a spanking, a male fantasy novel written by a man who wanted to be a woman and be spanked, characters vs. speeches, a libertarian fantasy world, no need for police and taxes, Irish Sweepstakes, unsubtle digs, sad and ridiculous, silly empress stuff, royalty can work really well, Heinlein signed a document that was in favor of continuing the Vietnam War, until what time?, G.I. benefits, Singapore, Europe, hanging-out with hairy hippies, being spat upon, infantry, the U.S. Navy, The Return Of William Proxmire by Larry Niven, a homeless Vet, questions his own sanity, visiting his parents, taking away the last two paragraphs, weird morality, misunderstanding what women want, sword spanking with specific swords, why am I being exposed to this, not so good with the flashing, Friday, more tightly controlled, a lot of time sitting around the castle, the actual adventure we get, dragons, the whole tower thing, a really good sword-fighting scene, all the references, who the swordsman (the never born) was Cyrano de Bergerac, it just so happens, good writing, Chapter 11 ends with a fateful scene, read the motto star, while we live let us live, again with the swords, jump high, another gate or doorway, The Door In The Wall by H.G. Wells, intermittent mental illness, a green door, a wonderful fantasy world, a beautiful elven lady much older than himself, a doorway to another universe, the inspiration for all of these styles of story, he wishes that he was there, opens himself to the possibilities, just a deluded man, playing, so many stories of this ilk, hard going, Stranger In A Strange Land is lawyers talking about morality with ladies serving them coffee, the Eater of Souls, Carcassonne, fly to the Moon, the play, replete with references, the thuddingness of the third act, Silverlock by John Myers Myers, To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip Jose Farmer, very swashbuckly, The Prisoner Of Zenda by Anthony Hope, the three women who want to bed him (the three bears), the horned ghosts, the horned goats, tilting at windmills, Don Quixote style, Neverwhere is how we got here, homeless and crazy, a roc's egg, a likely wench, slow wings of the albatross, Prester John, eating the lotus in the land of always afternoon, the world sucks, a fantasy world for Heinlein, Neil Gaiman's kinds of characters, the pixie girl, the blank Neil Gamian character, the funny character with a haircut, masturbatory, the kind of conflicts that Heinlein's character have is a kind of horror, abused by his government, killing little brown brother, a sadder ending, connecting everything, the Heinlein Cinematic Universe should not exist, The Number Of The Beast, he thinks its cool, Jesse doesn't care how many Manuel Garcia shows up in other books, not a fantasy novel, all the magic is math, "you don't have the math yet, son", the giant troll, a great scene, a pair of greasy hands, peak Heinlein efficiency, are you a coward?, brilliant, being manipulated for the better part of a decade, the scope, how many near Oscar Gordons are wandering the Earth, Rufo, as voiced by Bronson Pinchot, a funny sidekick, I invented it!, giving Eisenhauer advice on D-Day, the structure feels identical (to Neverwhere), tested at Blackfriars station, a psycho-ward, lederhosen and an aloha shirt and nothing else, ugly Americans, screw the draft, so wise, democracy is foolish, apply that to foreign policy, we made our commitments, national glory, honour and glory, we screwed up, you break it you bought it, more wasted lives, the longest war in American history, taking over the French fuck-up, not a book of wisdom, a book of adventure, so good when he's good and so terrible when he's terrible, working it out in his own head?, he loves his country so much, very progressive in strange ways, not racist, looking at a mirror too much, looking at it as a libertarian book, frustrating, oh god!, once the adventure is over, sentence by sentence writing, a mistake, visiting a barony, guests and heroes, Edgar Allan Poe, Casey At The Bat, A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court, why?, because!, fixing that mistake, sleeping with women, what is necessary in one world, wherever Heinlein's character's wander, same sex relations, a little lesbianism, no offers of young men, more universes under her belt, a running unfunny joke, earlier Heinlein, I Will Fear No Evil, Philip K. Dick, questionable morality, cheating, bows and swords, lady's got her eggs frozen (for later decanting), wacky stuff, fertility clinics, every book, Podkanyne Of Mars, interested in fertility, fertility treatments in the mid 20th century, something that ate at him?, "I'm sterile", "I'm going to have your baby", "does that make me a minx? does that make me a bitch?" why are we doing this to the listener, Mythgard Academy shouldn't do Heinlein, hurts peoples brains, birth control, women must be putting out all the time, yours is the weird universe, for such a brilliant guy, the ridiculous false-conflict conversations are almost unbearable, forgetting about the stuff, rationalizing, read him when you're young, the problematic stupid and clunky, Heinlein is in decline, the Coode Street Podcast, bookstores don't carry older stuff anymore, for the best?, Maureen Speller, studying Heinlein, University Of Illinois Press, what about the juveniles?, the YA, better YA being written, "less problematic", a lot of great protagonist storytelling with capital S capital F SCIENCE FICTION, Isaac Asimov, Rocketship Galileo, the science fiction mindset, playing a game of Science Fiction, Mr. Science Fiction, Heinlein's not doing allegory ever, hard SF, "here's how rocketships work, boys", if people don't read Moon Is A Harsh Mistress the world is a much worse place, Heinlein is great!, what makes somebody worth talking to is they've read a lot of books, The Hunger Games is okay but Tunnel In The Sky is better, The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, recycling characters, Heinlein has something really special, maybe there's other books out there for me, Heinlein really knows how to convey a certain 1950s mindset that "SCIENCE IS REALLY IMPORTANT", engineering students, breaking out the slide-rule, the Popular Mechanics style of can-do-ism, a not user repairable world, helping you as a person, the danger of Dungeons & Dragons, critical in all sorts of areas, tributes to Heinlein, there's something about him and his mindset, a I Love Heinlein show, somehow irrelevant, deep dive into genre history, thirty years and forty years after publication, reading a book, that's not how people read books anymore, cultural transmission, peer generation vs. top down generation, popular, a good old fashioned marketing campaign, Harry Potter, the epitome and ur example, what kid's going to pick up Starman Jones?, that's not marketing, we made a lot of money selling those books, a bottom up, will you in thirty years, Harry Potter ultimately nothing like Heinlein, within the set-up, however it works, spending time on Mars, he's interested in that, The Expanse novels, Jesse's not going to read them, anti-gravity, Ian Macdonald's Luna: New Moon, Artemis by Andy Weir, Luke Burrage's review, if you want to understand what life on the Moon's like, digging those tunnels, Gentlemen, Be Seated, let's explore and see what is consequent, that's wrong and Heinlein is the one who taught Jesse that, historical perspective, not the best move, not reflective of the field, Anne Of Green Gables, fantasy novels are generally timeless, science fiction (when it ages), what the heck is this?, a theoretical?, James Davis Nicoll, no good way to feel your way into it, The Lord Of The Rings, why are there no girls in this book?, most people who are real readers are real weirdos, the only reason Paul and Jesse met, omnivorous and fast vs. slow and ponderous, most of Jesse's student's don't read anything, a worse person without Heinlein, if they were public domain, the power of Lovecraft, everybody who read his stuff at the time H.P. Lovecraft was alive loved his stuff, this is stuff you should bounce off harder than anything, the vocabulary and the racism, a massive decline in Heinlein's stuff, some corporation, there's no champion for Heinlein, wonderful and terrible, getting a copy, Jesse has never seen a Kindle in real life, a great and terrible novel, in ten years, so many good scenes!
The SFFaudio Podcast #474 – READALONG: Glory Road by Robert A. Heinlein [ 1:42:10 | 59.84 MB ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Commentary: Appendix N: Inspirational And Educational Reading by Gary Gygax (from AD&D's original Dungeon Masters Guide)
Thursday, December 11, 2014 Jesse Willis	Leave a comment
Gary Gygax, co-creator of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons added, on page 224 of the 1979 Dungeon Masters Guide, a list of "Inspirational And Educational Reading."
Long out of print, but still incredibly relevant, this list of inspirations for the phenomenon that is Dungeons & Dragons, and role-playing games in general, deserves to be better known. There is a Wikipedia entry for the "sources and influences on the development of Dungeons & Dragons", but there's nothing like looking at the real thing.
So, here it is in it's entirety, following it you will find hypertext links to the Wikipedia entries for the specifically mentioned novels and collections (when available).
Appendix N lists the following authors and works:
Poul Anderson – THREE HEARTS AND THREE LIONS; THE HIGH CRUSADE; THE BROKEN SWORD
John Bellairs – THE FACE IN THE FROST
Leigh Brackett
Fredric Brown
Edgar Rice Burroughs – "Pellucidar" Series; Mars Series; Venus Series
Lin Carter – "World's End" Series
L. Sprague de Camp – LEST DARKNESS FALL; FALLIBLE FIEND; et al.
[L. Sprague] de Camp & [Fletcher] Pratt. "Harold Shea" Series; CARNELIAN CUBE
August Derleth
P. J. [Philip Jose] Farmer – "The World of the Tiers" Series; et al.
Gardner [F.] Fox – "Kothar" Series; "Kyrik" Series; et al.
R.E. [Robert E.] Howard – "Conan" Series
Sterling Lanier – HIERO'S JOURNEY
Fritz Leiber – "Fafhrd & Gray Mouser" Series; et al.
A. Merritt – CREEP, SHADOW, CREEP; [The] MOON POOL; DWELLERS IN THE MIRAGE; et al.
Michael Moorcock – STORMBRINGER; STEALER OF SOULS; "Hawkmoon" Series (esp. the first three books)
Andrew J. Offutt – editor SWORDS AGAINST DARKNESS III
Fletcher Pratt – BLUE STAR; et al.
Fred Saberhagen – CHANGELING EARTH; et al.
Margaret St. Clair – THE SHADOW PEOPLE; SIGN OF THE LABRYS
J.R.R. Tolkien – THE HOBBIT; "Ring Trilogy" [aka The Lord Of The Rings]
Jack Vance – THE EYES OF THE OVERWORLD; THE DYING EARTH; et al.
Stanley [G.] Weinbaum
Manly Wade Wellman
Jack Williamson
Roger Zelazny – JACK OF SHADOWS; "Amber" Series; et al.
Now with regards to the audio availability of the works and authors on this list I have composed the following set of notes:
Too few of the novels and collections specifically mentioned above are or ever have been audiobooks. But, there are several that have: the two Jack Vance books, the Tolkien books, of course, and Poul Anderson's The Broken Sword is available from Downpour.com (narrated by Bronson Pinchot). Unfortunately very few of the remaining bolded titles are in the public domain. One of the interesting exceptions is The Moon Pool by A. Merritt, which is available from LibriVox and narrated by veteran narrator Mark Douglas Nelson.
Of the series, those are the ones mentioned in quotes, I recommend Edgar Rice Burroughs's first Pellucidar novel, At the Earth's Core which is available from narrator David Stifel's site – we also have a podcast discussion of that book HERE. And we did a show on A Princess Of Mars, which is the first audiobook in what Gygax calls the "Mars series." The audiobook is HERE and the podcast is HERE.
Andre Norton's work is actually well represented on LibriVox.org, have a look HERE.
Several of Fritz Leiber's "Fafhrd & Gray Mouser" collections were produced by Audible, HERE. But several of the stories are also public domain and are available on our PDF Page, for turning into audiobooks or podcasts!
Roger Zelazny's first Amber series book was once available with Roger Zelazny's narration, today Audible.com has the original ten book series as narrated by Allesandro Juliani.
As for H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, and Lord Dunsany, we have done several audiobooks of their stories for The SFFaudio Podcast, available on Podcast Page, so that's a good place to start.
Further recommendations would have me point you towards the excellent small press audiobook publisher Audio Realms, which has the majority of the great Wayne June's readings of H.P. Lovecraft. They also have two volumes of Robert E. Howard's "Weird Works." Even more Robert E. Howard is available from Tantor Media.
I should also point out that most of the authors listed in Appendix N are now represented somewhere on our PDF Page, a page made up of U.S. public domain stories, poems, plays, novels, essays and comics. Please make some audiobooks, audio dramas, or podcasts from them! We will all be all the richer for it.
The SFFaudio Podcast #278 – AUDIOBOOK/READALONG: The Wonderful Window by Lord Dunsany
Monday, August 18, 2014 Jesse Willis	3 Comments
The SFFaudio Podcast #277 – The Wonderful Window by Lord Dunsany; read by John Feaster. This is an unabridged reading of the story (11 minutes) followed by a discussion of it. Participants in the discussion include Jesse and John Feaster.
Today's podcast is sponsored by Downcast, a terrific podcast app for iPhone and iPad.
Saturday Review, February 4th, 1911, the secret story behind of all of modern fantasy, do you listen to podcasts?, our SPONSOR: Downcast, an app for iPhone and iPad, small size, big impact, location based downloading, a super-customized experience, audio drama, The Red Panda Adventures, Decoder Ring Theater, Downcast allows you to lock episodes, the key to understanding, the beginning of binge-watching, Sidney Sime, The Book Of Wonder by Lord Dunsany, its criminal that Lord Dunsany, H.P. Lovecraft, J.R.R. Tolkien, a new podcast idea, Appendix N: Inspirational And Educational Reading, The Dungeon Master's Guide, take up this mantle, Gary Gygax, Dunsany's last champion, Poul Anderson, John Bellairs, Leigh Brackett, Frederic Brown, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Lin Carter, L. Sprague de Camp, Fletcher Pratt, August Derleth, Lord Dunsany, Philip Jose Farmer, Gardner Fox, Robert E. Howard, Sterling Lanier, Fritz Leiber, H.P. Lovecraft, A. Merritt, Michael Moorcock, Andre Norton, Andrew J. Offutt, Fletcher Pratt, Fred Saberhagen, Margaret St. Clair, J.R.R. Tolkien, Jack Vance, Stanley Weinbaum, Manly Wade Wellman, Jack Williamson, Roger Zelazny, let's understand it, S.T. Joshi, "the death of wonder", bullshit, the inaccessibility of our fantasies, did the Arabic man see Golden Dragon City?, wouldn't we see something different?, "the magi", the Scheherazade salesman, its about writing fantasy, its about reading fantasy, reading life and real life, getting addicted to Game Of Thrones, it seems like it is about television, serial fiction, the August days are growing shorter, winter is coming, George R.R. Martin, prose poems, deft brushstrokes, a more devastating fairy tale, is the window a metaphor within that world, The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs, the yellow robes, mood and temperament, what would Oprah see?, a soap opera, silent pictures, the constellations, The Crystal Egg by H.G. Wells, science fiction, Jesse's pet theory on the opening credit sequence of Game Of Thrones, the four houses, dragons and bears, orrery, Ptolemy vs. Copernicus, epicycles, orbital clockworks, Ringworld by Larry Niven, the inside of a Dyson sphere, Westeros, a fish-eye lens, a D&D style hex system, the mechanistic unplaying of the plot, it's not a half-assed Tolkien, HBO, a metaphor for The Wonderful Window, maybe it's a bowl?, a fantastically wealthy Lannister home?, that guy's based on The Kingpin, credit sequence, Dexter's morning routine, murdering coffee, "oh my god it's over", envisioning greater lives, some guy in Golden Dragon city is looking through a window at 1911 London, Lion City (London), make it WWI, the zeppelin terror, had it been written a few years later would we not assume the red bear as Communist Russia, escape to the secondary world, beaten down into the proper shape for Business, capital "B" business, "a touch of romance", daydreaming, a frock coat, a bookstore, "emporium", Walmart as a soul crushing emporium, howling newsboys, the birds in the belfries, "the seven", analogues for priests and nuns, dragons the most evocative fantasy animal, a silver field, what prompts the destruction of Golden Dragon city, Darkon (2006), LARPers, interesting, good, and sad, fantasy lives on the weekend, a cardboard factory, typical American upper-lower class jobs, religion, plunking away god-dollars, the popular conception of D&D, video games, Elvis' hips, KISS, better jobs, Detroit in ruins, work, podcasts to stave off the rats gnawing, John's gaming group, soul crushing and beautiful, Edward Plunkett, H.G. Wells, toy soldiers, the start of modern war-gaming, empire, "this dang story", 14th century Hungary, Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway, names, Friend, Spork, Carmilla (is a savory name), carnstein (flesh-stone), Mergin and Chater -> margin and cheater?, a used bookstore business is not one designed to make money (precisely), Chapters, the artificial love of books, the way Scrooge would run his business, the one room apartment, "tea-things", we ended on a happy note, fantasy and escapism, there's not much else past The Silmarillion, Elmore Leonard, Jack L. Chalker's last unpublished book, old-fashioned TV watching (no recording), "this window goes nowhere", Mr. Sladden's destruction of the window is better than had it been broken by someone else, the scent of mysterious spices, a breath of Golden Dragon City.
The SFFaudio Podcast #278 - AUDIOBOOK/READALONG: The Wonderful Window by Lord Dunsany [ 1:07:25 | 31.02 MB ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Anthony Boucher's All Stars: 52 best SF books (+6 More) and 12 Fantasy books
Friday, April 1, 2011 Jesse Willis	Leave a comment
The "All Star Anniversary Issue" of Fantasy And Science Fiction Magazine (for October 1958) featured famed editor Anthony Boucher's regular "Recommending Reading" column – but with a twist. In celebration of the magazine's 9th anniversary Boucher challenged himself to create a list of "Fifty Review Copies I Would Not Part With." He failed in this herculean task – he just couldn't pair down the list to fifty (even by restricting what would qualify in a number of ways). Instead, he ended up listing 52 Science Fiction novels or collections that he had no hand in publishing, another six that he did, and twelve Fantasy titles that were absolute must keepers as well. Of them Boucher wrote:
"These are novels and collections which have, from 1949 through 1957, given intense pleasure to a man professionally, obligated to read every s.f. book published in America; and I venture the guess that any reader, novice or habitué of our field, will find stimulation and delight in a high number of these titles."
That's good enough for me! I have reproduced as Boucher listed them (in alphabetical order by author). But I've added links to extant audiobook editions:
Boucher's 52 best SF books:
Brain Wave by Poul Anderson |BLACKSTONE AUDIO|
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov [COLLECTION] |READ OUR REVIEW|
The Caves Of Steel by Isaac Asimov |READ OUR REVIEW|
The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov |READ OUR REVIEW|
Earth Is Room Enough by Isaac Asimov [COLLECTION]
The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester
The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
The Long Tomorrow by Leigh Brackett
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury [COLLECTION] |READ OUR REVIEW|
What Mad Universe by Fredric Brown
The Lights In The Sky Are Stars by Fredric Brown
Angels And Spaceships by Fredric Brown [COLLECTION]
Cloak Of Aesir by John W. Campbell [COLLECTION]
No Blade Of Grass / The Death Of Grass by John Christopher |AUDIBLE FRONTIERS|
Prelude To Space by Arthur C. Clarke
Expedition To Earth by Arthur C. Clarke [COLLECTION]
Against The Fall Of Night (and The City And The Stars) by Arthur C. Clarke
Mission Of Gravity by Hal Clement
The Wheels Of If by L. Sprague de Camp [COLLECTION]
Rogue Queen by L. Sprague de Camp
Nerves by Lester Del Rey
Eye In The Sky by Philip K. Dick |BLACKSTONE AUDIO|
The Third Level by Jack Finney [COLLECTION]
The Man Who Sold The Moon by Robert A. Heinlein [COLLECTION]
The Green Hills Of Earth by Robert A. Heinlein [COLLECTION] |BLACKSTONE AUDIO|BOOKS ON TAPE|CAEDMON|
Bullard Of The Space Patrol by Malcolm Jameson
Takeoff by C.M. Kornbluth
The Explorers by C.M. Kornbluth [COLLECTION]
Not This August by C.M. Kornbluth
Gather, Darkness by Fritz Leiber
The Green Millennium by Fritz Leiber |WONDER AUDIO|
The Big Ball Of Wax by Shepherd Mead
Shadow On The Hearth by Judith Merrril
Shadows In The Sun by Chad Oliver
Another Kind by Chad Oliver [COLLECTION]
A Mirror For Observers by Edgar Pangborn
The Space Merchants by Frederick Pohl and C.M. Kornbluth
The Other Place by J.B. Priestly [COLLECTION]
Deep Space by Eric Frank Russell [COLLECTION]
Untouched by Human Hands by Robert Sheckley [COLLECTION]
City by Clifford D. Simak [COLLECTION] |AUDIBLE FRONTIERS|
Strangers In The Universe by Clifford D. Simak
Without Sorcery by Theodore Sturgeon [COLLECTION]
The Dreaming Jewels by Theodore Sturgeon |BLACKSTONE AUDIO|
More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon |BLACKSTONE AUDIO|
Slan by A.E. van Vogt |BBC AUDIOBOOKS AMERICA|
The Weapon Shops and The Weapon Makers by A.E. van Vogt
Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. |AUDIBLE MODERN VANGUARD|
A Martian Odyssey by Stanley Weinbaum [COLLECTION] |LIBRIVOX|
The Throne Of Saturn by S. Fowler Wright
The Day Of The Triffids by John Wyndham |AUDIBLE FRONTIERS|
Re-Birth/The Chrysalids by John Wyndham |AUDIBLE FRONTIERS|
Excellent titles that had origins on the pages of Fantasy And Science Fiction:
Bring The Jubilee by Ward Moore
Tales From Gavagan's Bar by Fletcher Pratt and L. Sprague de Camp [COLLECTION]
The Sinister Researches Of C.P. Ransom by H. Nearing Jr. [COLLECTION]
One In Three Hundred by J.T. McIntosh
The Star Beast by Robert A. Heinlein |FULL CAST AUDIO|
The Door Into Summer by Robert A. Heinlein |BLACKSTONE AUDIO|
Boucher's best dozen Fantasy books:
The Devil In Velvet by John Dickson Carr
Fancies And Goodnights by John Collier [COLLECTION]
The Worm Ouroboros by E.R. Eddison |MARIA LECTRIX|
The Circus Of Dr. Lao by Charles G. Finney
The Private Memoirs And Confessions Of A Justified Sinner by James Hogg
Fear by L. Ron Hubbard |GALAXY PRESS|
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson [COLLECTION] |BBC AUDIOBOOKS AMERICA|
The Ghostly Tales by Henry James [COLLECTION]
Pogo by Walt Kelly
Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis |BLACKSTONE AUDIO|
Further Fables For Our Times by James Thurber [COLLECTION]
The Lord Of The Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien |RECORDED BOOKS|


The award-winning Four Star Bushmills Inn is one of Ireland's most well known and luxurious hotels.
Dating back to the early 1600s, when the Coaching Inn was a favourite stop off for saddle sore visitors en route to the Giant's Causeway.
The Bushmills Inn has an interesting and varied history. Named in 2017 as IGTOA's Boutique Golf Hotel of the Year for all Ireland and the AA Hotel of the Year for Northern Ireland, it has since been faithfully restored, extended and refurbished to an exceptionally high standard.
Each of the 41 individually designed guest rooms offers luxurious furnishings, whilst at the same time creating the quaint and atmospheric ambience of the Inn's bygone days, and many have views extending over the River Bush and the area of outstanding natural beauty which surrounds the Causeway Coast.
Overlooking the Garden Courtyard, the award winning 'Taste of Ulster' Restaurant takes in the original 17th-century stables and wine cellar. Blending classical with modern Irish cuisine each dish is crafted from traditional roots with menus inspired by local produce. Following dinner guests can sample the world famous Bushmills whiskey from the Inn's private cask, in the traditional Gas Bar where live Irish music can also be enjoyed.
Situated in an enviable location, a stone's throw from the Old Bushmills Distillery, Royal Portrush Golf Club, the Giant's Causeway and Dunluce Castle, the Inn offers all that you would expect from an internationally renowned four star hotel and more besides. From the moment you step inside you know that you are in a very special place, with peat fires roaring and nooks and crannies just waiting to be explored the Inn epitomises the true spirit of Ulster hospitality.


text:
David Pitt-Watson was named director of investments at Hermes Pensions...
David Pitt-Watson was named director of investments at Hermes Pensions Management, effective Nov. 11. He will oversee the Focus Funds, corporate governance and the recently launched Equity Ownership Services, according to a news release from the company. Mr. Pitt-Watson replaces Peter Butler, former head of corporate governance, and Steve Brown, former managing director of investments; both resigned earlier this week.
Mr. Pitt-Watson was managing director of the large-capitalization UK Focus Fund; he will be replaced by John Leach, who was executive director, responsible for turnaround strategies in corporate governance. Other members of Mr. Leach's team will assume his duties.


text:
Q: Reading Microsoft tags You guys are probably aware of Microsoft Tags.
We have a barcode gun in our office and I would like to read these tags using C#.
Any idea how I can go about doing this?
Thanks

A: The Microsoft Tag initiative is based around image recognition, a barcode gun won't have any idea of what to do with a 'Tag', but you can use your phone camera. There's a sample app in the Apple App Store if you have an iPhone, not sure if they've written a version for Windows Mobile yet.
The principle is that you can resolve the tag to a short alpha-numeric code (think GUID but smaller) and then look that up using Microsoft's register of tags, using Web Services.

A: The question is why?
There have been companies spruiking this for years and it just doesn't make sense.
I'd rather have an application that read a URL from a photo, OCR'd it and then punched it into a browser for me.  That way you get the ability to click and view, but you don't need a phone in your hand to write down the URL.  They're all striving for a vendor lock in.
Call me a luddite or blind to the way of the future but I just don't see this as a "killer app".

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Lunch and dinner are handled!
No-Carb 14 Meal Plan offers 14 healthy prepared meals at $9.99 per meal.
The No-Carb 14 Meal Plan was designed for individuals who not only need to save time by having two meals per day ready to enjoy but also want to take control of their diet.
How about a snack or dessert?
Add 2 donuts to your order for $7.00.
The Breakfast Meal Plan was designed for individuals who need to save time in the morning by having their meal ready to enjoy.
Choose either 4, 6, or 8 healthy prepared meals weekly at $8.00 per meal.


Do NOT attempt to rotate arm if fracture or dislocation is suspected.
Fractures and/or dislocations of the proximal humerus and scapula are demonstrated. The humeral head will be demonstrated inferior to the coracoid process with anterior dislocations, and for less common posterior dislocations, the humeral head will be demonstrated inferior to the acromion process. Excellent projection to demonstrate profile of coracoid process and scapular spine.
Rotate into an anterior oblique position as for a lateral scapula with patient facing IR. Average patient will be in 45degree to 60degree anterior oblique position. Palpate scapular borders to determine correct rotation for a true lateral position of scapula.
Center scapulohumeral joint to CR and to center of IR.
Abduct arm slightly if possible so as to not superimposed proximal humerus over ribs; do not attempt to rotate arm.
CR perpendicular to IR, directed to scapulohumeral joint (2 or 2 1/2 inches [ 5 to 6 cm] below top of shoulder) see note.
If necessary, because of patient condition, this scapular Y lateral may be taken recumbent in the opposite posterior oblique position with injured shoulder elevated.
A true lateral view of the scapula, proximal humerus, and scapulohumeral joint.
The thin body of the scapula should be seen on end without rib superimposition.
The acromion and coracoid processes should appear as nearly symmetric upper limbs of the Y.
The humeral head should appear superimposed over the base of the Y if the humerus is not dislocated.
Collimation is visible on four sides to area of affected shoulder.
CR and center of the collimation field should be at the humeral head and surgical neck region.
Optimal density and contrast with no motion will visualize sharp bony borders and the outline of the body of the scapula throught the proximal humerus.


Daniel Evans has been appointed creative director at Leo Burnett London. A digitally-led creative who has built a strong reputation across all disciplines, Evans joins from We Are Social, where he was the associate creative director.
Chaka Sobhani has been named chief creative officer at Leo Burnett London. She comes over from Mother.


stylish homes and contemporary penthouses.
Trevor Square's commanding and historic architecture, once part of Harrods, reflects the prestige of a Knightsbridge address, a renowned location within easy reach of Hyde Park, Mayfair and Chelsea.
Renovated to the highest standard and the most modern of specifications this development represents a unique opportunity to live in one of London's most notable residential areas.


I recently had an interview with a large firm for a software engineer role. The interview was organized through a recruitment agency.
The night before the interview the recruitment agent sent me an email outlining what format the interview will most likely take and what kinds of questions in which areas I can expect (including which technical areas). At the time I didn't think much of it as it was more or less what I could have guessed anyway.
After the interview when I spoke to the agent she began asking me some detailed questions about the interview. She wanted to know what kind of technical questions they asked and other things. In my head alarm bells went off and I gave her vague answers.
I am suspecting if I had given her more information she would have passed this on to her next candidate she was sending to this company which would have done two things: reduce the likelihood I would get the job by giving the next candidate more detailed information and a chance to prepare better - and increase the likelihood she would land someone the job (potentially benefiting her company and possibly her if they work on a commission basis).
I have never come across anyone who sent me an email with detailed information about what to expect during the interview and then afterwards ask what was asked in mine.
Is this a new trend in recruitment or is she a rogue recruiter?
Is it ethical considering it isn't fair if you're one of the previous candidates and considering the employer isn't getting the best candidate?
If it is a trend then what would be the best way to deal with someone like this if it happens again?
tl;dr Recruiter asking what was said in interview to help next candidate. Is this acceptable, whats the best way to deal with it?
I had this happen to me as well a few years ago, so I doubt it is a super new thing.
Obviously a recruiter has an incentive to make sure candidates are the most well prepared. Getting information about what questions are asked can allow them to inform a candidate of general formats and patterns that are being used by the company. As long as they are not directly feeding the specific questions to candidates or information that allows candidates to guess, then what they are doing is probably okay.
You don't have any obligation to the recruiter to answer anything you don't feel comfortable with. If you feel that revealing information is going to hurt your position, then just be general or be honest about your feelings. I think the same thing applies when a recruiter or company asks your current salary and you reply with your goal so your position is not weakened.
Adding to Joshua's answer. Even if the future candidates go in knowing the questions and the format of the interview, it doesn't mean they'll necessarily give a better interview.
Even with knowing the questions etc, it ultimately comes down to your ability to apply your own skills and experiences to the situation and demonstrate that you're suitable for the job.
There could be a number of reasons why they ask his information, including for future job openings to gauge how the industry interviews for particular roles.
This is nothing new. It has been happening for many years. I'm surprised this is the first time you have encountered it.
You are conflating several things here.
You got current information before your interview and used it as best you could. Other candidates will do the same. It's not much different from asking friends already in the company what kinds of questions to expect and getting yourself prepared. Good headhunters want their candidates to be as prepared as possible. Unless you or the recruiter are specifically warned by the company not to reveal any questions being asked (via an NDA or other request), I see nothing unethical here.
None of this means that the employer isn't getting the best candidates. It's up to the employer to ask the kinds of questions that lead to good candidates and that aren't easily passed on from candidate to candidate.
Asking quiz/puzzle questions that can be memorized or asking yes/no questions is foolish. Asking open-ended questions and probing for real understanding is far better, and should lead to better hires.
You can deal with it by refusing to participate, if that's what you want. Just state up front that you don't want to know anything about what kinds of questions will be asked. Then after the interview refuse to reply when being debriefed regarding what questions came up.
Just be aware that others will get some benefits that you won't.
It's extremely common in the UK especially for starter roles, where recruiters deal with a lot more volume and a lot less commission. As you progress they become more refined, but those who 'prepare' you for the interview will try to get a debrief out of you to help their next candidate.
The best way I've found was to be vague, like you did, or just say your information was more or less accurate - even if it wasn't. More or less does not mean spot-on and you can avoid the dance around declining to give any info.
You can ask them to refrain from sending you material if they indicate they're going to and they'll argue back a bit - but you can afford to piss off recruiters, so it's fine.
This is fairly common in the UK and varies between directly asking what the questions were to having a "debrief" where they try to get the questions in a more subtle way, or subtle for a recruiter anyway.
Giving interview feedback is a good thing but I would never give any specific details about the interview. I would give generals like "There were questions on the topic of xyz" or "The interview was in two parts, questions and then a technical challenge", or even "I don't think there was an opportunity to show what I know about abc". If you give too much information away and this gets back to the company that were interviewing you it could harm your reputation (at least with them). If a company is not willing to disclose the details of an interview with a recruiter then you shouldn't either. If I'm still asked for more information I suggest the recruiter gets in touch directly with their contact at the company for the information they want.
I've been specifically asked during one interview to not mention details to the recruiter.
It's ethically dubious on your part to happily take advice from previous candidates, but decline to contribute.
I've encountered situations where i was given the entire question set prior to an interview. I even, the next day, encountered another candidate - who even with the entire question set failed the interview.
The interview process in IT is relatively broken, because its so easy to measure knowledge that it's now become a basic unit of the interview process. But of course, it's more important to measure speed of learning, ability to synthesise new ideas and so on - if IT was just about knowledge, then projects would be easily estimated, which they're not.
Anyway, I never minded giving a recruiter detailed feedback - if I didn't get the job, why would you hurt another engineer's chances? And if I did blitz the interview, well, I'm going to get an offer anyway.
Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged recruitment human-resources ethics or ask your own question.
Should I give recruiter my DOB and last four digits of SSN?


text:
Bath Data Centers
» Index » United Kingdom » Bath
Currently there are 0 colocation data centers from Bath in United Kingdom.
Need services in Bath?
Also consider checking out colocation data centers in the following areas located within United Kingdom:
» Aberdeen (2), Bedford (1), Belfast (6), Berkshire (12), Birmingham uk (10), Birmingham UK (10), Bolton (1), Bournemouth (3), Bradford (1), Cambridge (7), Cardiff (1), Cheltenham (2), Colchester (2), Crawley (1), Crewe (1), Croydon (1), Derby (2), Dundee (1), Durham (2), Edinburgh (3), Essex (1), Farnborough (2), Fleet (1), Glasgow (3), Gloucester (1), Guildford (1), Hertford (2), Ipswich (1), Kent (3), Leeds (9), Leicester (1), Leiston (1), Lincolnshire (2), Liverpool (1), London (87), Luton (1), Manchester (20), Middlesbrough (1), Middlesbrough (1), Milton Keynes (7), Newcastle (10), North Wales (3), Northamptonshire (3), Norwich (1), Norwich (1), Nottingham (5), Oxfordshire (1), Peterborough (2), Poole (4), Portsmouth (10), Redhill (1), Reigate (1), Sheffield (7), Shropshire (2), Slough (6), Somerset (1), South Wales (1), Stevenage (2), Surrey (1), The Lizard (1), Wakefield (1), Walsall (2), Welwyn Garden City (1), Wherstead (1), Wiltshire (1), Woking (4), Wolverhampton (1), York (1)
When searching for colocation data centers in United Kingdom, it is worth noting that the British way of spelling data center is data centre and likewise data centres if there are multiple. Other servies such as managed hosting, dedicated servers, virtual servers, cloud hosting, IP transit etc. are called the same as in American English.
» Request quote from providers in Bath


text:
Magnus Dahlström, né en  à Stockholm, est un écrivain et dramaturge suédois.

Biographie

Il obtient le prix Dobloug en 2012.

Œuvres traduites en français
 Feu [« Fyr »], trad. de Jean-Baptiste Brunet-Jailly, Paris, Maren Sell Éditeurs, coll. « Petite bibliothèque européenne du  », 1992, 214 p.
 L'Épreuve du feu [« Järnbörd »], trad. de Terje Sinding, Besançon, France, Les Solitaires Intempestifs, coll. « La Mousson d'été », 2000, 74 p.
Pièce de théâtre montée au Théâtre national de Bretagne en 2002 par Stanislas Nordey
 L'Usine [« Verket »], trad. de Terje Sinding, Besançon, France, Les Solitaires Intempestifs, coll. « La Mousson d'été », 2002, 90 p.
Pièce de théâtre montée notamment au MC2 et au Théâtre du Rond-Point en 2007 par Jacques Osinski

Notes et références

Liens externes

Romancier suédois
Dramaturge suédois du XXe siècle
Dramaturge suédois du XXIe siècle
Lauréat du prix Dobloug
Naissance à Stockholm
Naissance en 1963

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The Children's Hospital Foundation won a contest from Northwestern Mutual to provide the "camp-in."
LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - Imagine all the things you love about camping, but doing it indoors.
The Oncology Unit at Norton Children's Hospital was turned into Camp S'More Hope. Patients and their families got to make S'mores, sing songs around the campfire, and paint rocks.
The Children's Hospital Foundation won a contest from Northwestern Mutual to provide this camp-in experience.


Tap the account type (e.g. Backup Assistant Plus, Email, Google, etc.).
Turn the sync settings on or off as applicable.
A setting is turned on when a check mark is present and settings may vary depending upon account type.
Navigate Notifications panel (drag down from the top).
Tap the Notifications icon (located in the upper-right).