text:
The Stop Button
August 25, 2011 August 25, 2011 Site AdminUncategorized
[edit Nov 14 2011: Now it is the USA, and people are getting clear about what they want. Need a stop button!]
London is burning. The world saw an Arab Spring, and in London and San Francisco — across Europe and North America — we celebrated other people's civil discontent as a sign of positive transformation. Why are we not celebrating our own civil unrest?
One reason is that, unlike the protests against cuts in student benefits earlier in the year, there are no clear causes being promoted. The people looting shops and starting fires have no signs, no social media groups — their only communiqués are the mime of street violence. The spark — a vigil-cum-protest-cum-riot — was a response to the shooting death of a Tottenham local at the hands of police. The rioters are not carrying that cause however, not relying on even that tissue-thin excuse. There is no pretense.
I often wonder about the madness of crowds, the emergent violence. It can be cultivated, the way lynch mobs and the Rwandan genocide were cultivated by murderous leaders. It can also simply tip over the edge, with no visible leader, no single individual clearly stoking the flames. If we ever get public access to the Blackberry messages that have apparently been the primary coordinating medium for young looters, I suspect that there will be some people who wrote more messages than others but no clear organising center.
I wonder, "how did we not see it coming?" A colleague of mine who grew up in London and pays attention to such things was explaining to me that there have been crisis reports from people who work with youth. Young people living on the financial edge of British society have recently lost funds for taking the bus to school. 13 out of 15 youth clubs have been shut down around the Tottenham area and across the country youth services and youth clubs in particular, have been slashed as part of the austerity measures following the banking bailout. They know they will soon have a choice between seeking shrinking government subsidies and or throwing themselves into a shrinking job market. They see the price of education leaping beyond what they imagine possible. They are losing what future they imagined they had. I remember the easy violence of teenage boys in my privileged private school — what do we expect from those who are losing hope?
I do not in any way mean to excuse the violence, or to imply that we ought to accept violence against ourselves, our loved ones, our neighbours or our property. I am more interested in avoiding a world where such violence surprises us.
In a lean manufacturing plant, any worker on the line can pull a chain or press a button and stop all work. If there is a flaw that cannot immediately be repaired — a car with a broken component, let us say — then it is her duty to press the button. We might imagine that such a right, such a duty, would make lean manufacturers incredibly inefficient. Instead, it gives them a very high quality level, and means that the system very quickly evolves to eliminate the things that produce broken components (and stopped manufacturing plants).
Unfortunately, our society does not have such a chain. The youth on the streets are doing the inexcusable (well, they are not yet committing mass murder, so let us be thankful, but still…). Still, when could they have pulled a chain or pushed a button to stop the machinery of state? We need a feedback mechanism that cannot be ignored.
For years, protesters, academics and business people have been pointing out the problems in our global economy and financial system. In 2007 the global economy began to collapse; we have not recovered yet, but we continue with the same monetary systems, the same banks, the same political dynamics. We have used democracy to change governments; people have raised their voices in the streets and yet the system goes on. It is as though the assembly line has been turning out car after car, each one with the same fault. Each one, driven down the road, catches fire. Workers protest, and are fired. The company is losing customers, the shareholders are complaining, everyone knows the system is broken — but management is well paid, and the assembly line does not stop.
Policy decisions must have a built-in "stop button." If it endangers our future, our ability to do what we are here to do, we need to be able to raise a paramount objection and stop production until the fault is fixed. The idea is simple. It works in government, community groups, and industry. Children can use the system. If you want examples, just search online for "sociocracy" or "dynamic governance". Hundreds of organisations are successfully governing themselves by giving everyone a voice in policy-making, and giving every participant a chance to press the stop button.
I know we could do this throughout our society. But I think we won't. I think that the current systems, built without stop buttons, will for the most part slump ever further into collapse until we cannot support them anymore. Young people will burn more neighbourhoods — not because it is the right thing to do, not because they understand what is happening in the system any better than anyone else, but because violent mime is the closest thing to a stop button they can find. Then, the organisations that have built in feedback systems they cannot ignore, organisations that can't help learning because nothing else gets the machines working again — sociocratic, lean, agile, cooperative organisations — will pick up the pieces.
The Solyndra Shutdown – Who Knew?
View posts by Site Admin
The ideas have been cleverly worked out for a very long time and are at the point of being ready to be taught and used. We were well-trained and it is usable NOW. For 12 hours training this was a stunning achievement. Fantastic! Best bunch of new ideas I have heard for a long time.
Dave Burrows, Director, AIDS Projects Management Group
https://sociocracyconsulting.com/testimonials/ready-to-use/
Better Team Decisions
We work with self-guiding teams. In the past, I observed these teams talking endlessly without coming to a decision. The former managers still had to cut through a lot of resistance. With the sociocratic method, the teams make decisions well.
Director of an oil refinery safety department
https://sociocracyconsulting.com/testimonials/better-team-decisions/
Best Approach in 25 Years
Sociocracy is the best approach to organizational design that I have seen in twenty-five years of consulting.
Ira Chaleff, Founder and President of Executive Coaching & Consulting Associates
https://sociocracyconsulting.com/testimonials/best-approach-in-25-years/


text:
"use strict";

module.exports.Mixin = function (browserify) {
    return browserify;
};

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: React: Can't "access" click handler within returning JSX I am learning React by trying to create a simple Tweetbox "uploading" multiple images using the browser HTML5 File API.
See screenshot below:

As it recommends in the official documentation I am using the inbuilt map function to loop over the uploaded image urls in an array.
I am enclosing this in a variable so that it can be reused in the JSX below within the wrapper div which I only want to show if an image has been uploaded.
The problem is that due to some sort of scope problem it can't "see" or "access" my _removePhoto function and click handler in this code snippet:
_removePhoto(event) {
    let array = this.state.imagePreviewUrls;
    let index = array.indexOf(event.target.result)
      array.splice(index, 1);
      this.setState({imagePreviewUrls: array });
      // this.setState( {imagePreviewUrls: false} );
  }

  render() {

    let {imagePreviewUrls} = this.state;
    let {thereIsImage} = this.state;
    // var {thereIsImage} = this.state;
    // onClick={this._removePhoto}

    var imageList = imagePreviewUrls.map(function(value, index) {
        return (

              <button onClick={this._removePhoto} className="button-reset pointer dim bn bg-black h2 w2 br-100 white flex items-center justify-center absolute absolute--fill-l center">close
              </button>

          )
    })

This gives the error:
Uncaught TypeError: Cannot read property '_removePhoto' of undefined
    at bundle.js:19085
    at Array.map (<anonymous>)

(The _removePhoto logic works if I don't enclose the map function in the imageList variable in this way).
Also if I remove the onClick event handler, it shows the image preview, but there is another error in the console saying that I need to include "index". However, I have already included this as per the documentation's instructions.
Here is my full code below:
import React from 'react'
import ReactDOM from 'react-dom'
// This library didn't help me solve the problem
// const classNames = require('classnames');

class TweetBox extends React.Component {
  constructor(props) {
    super(props);
    this.state = {
          text: "",
          files: [],
          imagePreviewUrls: [],
          thereIsImage: false
    };

    this._handleTextChange = this._handleTextChange.bind(this);
    this._triggerFileDialogue = this._triggerFileDialogue.bind(this);
    this._handlePhotoUpload = this._handlePhotoUpload.bind(this);
    this._removePhoto = this._removePhoto.bind(this);
  }

  _removePhoto(event) {
    let array = this.state.imagePreviewUrls;
    let index = array.indexOf(event.target.result)
      array.splice(index, 1);
      this.setState({imagePreviewUrls: array });
      // this.setState( {imagePreviewUrls: false} );
  }

  render() {

    let {imagePreviewUrls} = this.state;
    let {thereIsImage} = this.state;
    // var {thereIsImage} = this.state;
    // onClick={this._removePhoto}

    var imageList = imagePreviewUrls.map(function(value, index) {
        return (

              <button onClick={this._removePhoto} className="button-reset pointer dim bn bg-black h2 w2 br-100 white flex items-center justify-center absolute absolute--fill-l center">close
              </button>

          )
    })

    return (

        {/* TITLE SECTION */}

Create New Report

        <textarea onChange={this._handleTextChange} placeholder="Write your report here" name="tweet" rows="4" className="w-100 br2 ba b--black-10 pa2"></textarea>

        { imagePreviewUrls.length > 0 &&

          {imageList}

      }

        <input className="hide" ref={ (input) => { this.fileInput = input; } } onChange={ this._handlePhotoUpload } type="file"></input>

            <button onClick={ this._triggerFileDialogue } className="button-reset flex items-center br2 bn bg-transparent blue hover-bg-black-10 pointer">
              photo_camera
            </button>

            <button disabled={ this.state.text.length === 0 } className="button-reset bg-blue bn white f6 fw5 pv2 ph3 br2 dim">Message</button>

        {/* End "near-white" subcontainer */}

      {/* End "b--black-10" parent container */}

    );

} // End Render

  _handleTextChange(event) {
      this.setState( { text: event.target.value } );
      // For debugging:
      // console.log( { text: event.target.value })
    }

  _triggerFileDialogue(event) {
    this.fileInput.click();
  }

  _handlePhotoUpload(event) {
    // var self = this;
    event.preventDefault();

    let files = event.target.files;

    for (let i = 0; i < files.length; i++) {
      let reader = new FileReader();

      reader.onloadend = (evt) => {

        var imageString = evt.target.result;
        let updatedImages = this.state.imagePreviewUrls.concat(imageString);

        this.setState({
          imagePreviewUrls: updatedImages,
          files: files[i],
          thereIsImage: true
        });

      }
      reader.readAsDataURL(files[i]);
      console.log(files[i]);
    }

  }

} // End Master React Class

ReactDOM.render( <TweetBox />, document.getElementById("app") );

Many thanks in advance, I've googled lots of things on Stack Overflow but can't find a solution to this! The code above should be reproducible.

A: Instead of using anonymous function on the map you should use arrow function (which are auto bind to the current context):
var imageList = imagePreviewUrls.map((value, index) => {
        return (

              <button onClick={this._removePhoto} className="button-reset pointer dim bn bg-black h2 w2 br-100 white flex items-center justify-center absolute absolute--fill-l center">close
              </button>

          )
    })

When using arrow function, the this is automatically referenced to the current this you have in the relevant context.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Granit Xhaka has insisted that Arsenal will need to score a goal in Naples if they are to kill off the tie against Napoli (via The Daily Mail).
It's a huge match for Arsenal on Thursday night as they head to Italy to see out their Europa League quarter-final tie with Napoli.
The Gunners take a two-goal advantage into the match and midfielder Granit Xhaka has said that Arsenal must score if they are to see the game through.
"They have to come (at us)," Xhaka said of Napoli.
If Arsenal get an away goal then Napoli will need to score four to progress but things will be difficult given the Gunners' away form.
"We need different character away. Away it is not always easy to play, we have to take the duels, we have to win the duels, and you can see if you do that you can win the game.
It's going to be a tough match for Granit Xhaka and Arsenal. The Gunners will probably need to score to secure the result and could be set up to counter-attack against this Napoli team. Let's hope Unai Emery's side can pick up that crucial away goal and progress.


text:
Next Generation LiveCode (Open Source)
Everyone in the world can code. Let's start now!
RunRev Ltd
3,342 backers pledged £493,795 to help bring this project to life.
Project We Love Edinburgh, UK Software
pledged of £350,000 goal
Update: Stretch Goals
We made it! A huge thank you to everyone who has supported the campaign so far. We still have some great rewards and great stretch goals. There is still a little time left to pledge.
Update: LiveCode Adopted by More than 25% of High Schools in Scotland; Raspberry Pi
Great process for the platform today for students and educators. Read all about it here.
Update: Halo Co-Creator Chooses LiveCode to Build Graphic Novel Experience
This is such an amazing new iOS app that we wanted to share details here.
What is this Kickstarter Campaign About?
Have you ever had an idea for an app but don't know how to code?
Have you ever wanted to learn how to code but found it too difficult?
Have you ever been frustrated by how long it takes to write an app?
Are you frustrated with the current state of computer science education in high school?
Do you want to help establish coding as a new form of literacy?
Are you interested in a better way to write software for your company?
If you answered YES to any of these questions, then we need your help.
In 1987 Apple created a program called HyperCard. If you haven't heard of it, all you need to know is that tens of millions of end user programmers used it. It was the easiest and most popular end user programming environment ever created, before or since.
LiveCode is like a next generation version of HyperCard. It is used to create #1 one app store apps, real-time flight booking systems and control satellites. It is used to create simple one off apps and utilities to solve day-to-day problems.
There are some things it can't do – yet. This project is to create a next-generation LiveCode.
Our vision is that this new next-generation LiveCode will be free and open source.
It will run on every popular platform and device.
It will let you write programs in English.
And by being open, its English language programming will be extensible to any computing problem out there. That's a world first.
If you couldn't code before, LiveCode is the answer. If you've used the existing version of LiveCode before and it didn't do everything you needed, this next-generation version has you covered.
What is LiveCode? Our story.
Computer Science Students Love LiveCode
Almost a quarter of secondary schools in Scotland are now teaching with LiveCode.
Every school that has used LiveCode for more than a year has seen a doubling of uptake in advanced computer science classes!
By supporting this project, you'll be helping create a version of the platform even more suitable for teaching.
It will be free for schools and universities worldwide.
We believe that computational thinking and programming is a key form of digital literacy and that enabling a new generation to write interactive software is critically important in today's economy.
Students use LiveCode to create games and apps for their own smartphones and tablets. Although the LiveCode language is easy to use, it is a sophisticated and complete programming language suitable for teaching all aspects of computational thinking needed for this age group, even including advanced concepts for older students (e.g. arrays, parameter passing by reference).
The open source edition of LiveCode will be free and available to schools globally. Read more about LiveCode in Education.
What is your money going toward?
We need to raise £350,000 to fund an experienced team to do this right.
We will re-engineer the whole platform so it is easy for the community to contribute to the code base. Did you know that Linux only took off after a version of it was created that was modularized with a kernel? We'll be doing the same to LiveCode. If you're technical, you can read all about this here.
We will introduce a new technology called "Open Language". With Open Language, the more technical members of our community can create English-like words and phrases to enable everyone to write programs that use any aspect of a computer or device. If you're technical, you can read all about that here.
We will introduce a new visual editor designed around today's usability standards. The editor will be open. The more technical members of our community can create simplified versions of the editor for tablets or primary schools.
Here is a screenshot of the prototype:
When Will it Be Completed?
Within a month of the campaign closing we will launch the Community Edition with the source code. That version will have the source code as it is today. This will provide everyone who has made a pledge access to the platform.
Over the following few months we will be hard at work on the main goal of creating the next generation of the platform. We will restructure the code into modules that plug into a new kernel and deliver this version for testing over the summer. Once that is complete the community will be able to contribute to the source code easily.
Technical Summary of Kickstarter Deliverables
We are going to use the Kickstarter funding to deliver the next generation of the entire LiveCode language and visual development environment. To do this we need to do some packaging and updating, including:
Packing the source code into community-friendly modules
Optimize the execution engine and some older components
Add a clean architecture to allow new language plugins to be developed
Create a new, beautiful graphical front-end for building your apps
The scope of these tasks is considerable. We will be reorganizing some half a million lines of C++ code, running on six platforms - Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android and Server, into straightforward modules that plug into the new kernel. We will be porting our English-like syntax into a new uniform virtual machine layer and adding a way to let the community add its own syntax. Another team will be working on re-designing the visual editor in parallel to make the platform even easier to get started with and use!
While we will be making the code base available in its current form immediately, these important changes will take the platform to the next level, and make it much easier for the open source community to make contributions. At the end of this we will have a beautiful, consistent and openplatform.
We have designed the project to be flexible and there is so much more we can add to the new Open Source platform.
We have some truly amazing stretch goals - features for students, for gamers, for commercial companies and more. Supporting our stretch goals will let us deliver the future to you much faster. Example stretch goals include a brand new multimedia layer, new sprite capabilities and support for additional platforms!
We have goals covering virtually every enhancement request our customers have ever made, so please stay tuned.
Who You Will Be Working With
The LiveCode Team - click to learn more about us
Every pledge you make is so important to the success of this exciting project and we have developed fantastic rewards to thank you for your support.
Everyone who contributes more than £12 ($20) will get a complete set of LiveCode Training Academies where you can learn everything you need to know to create your own app or game.
The pricing in euros and US dollars is an estimate and your actual conversion rate may vary slightly.
Please Make a Pledge. Thanks very much for your support.
There is no doubt that this is a massive project. Like every software engineering project of this scope, careful planning is needed. Our experienced team of LiveCode experts have spent months planning out the delivery of this project. Everyone is looking forward to the challenge.
With your support we will deliver the next generation, open source LiveCode and bring coding to everyone.
Thank you so much for your support.
Pledge £3 or more About US$ 4
Thank You for your Pledge - Everyone at RunRev loves you! All Backers receive the Full Community Edition of LiveCode once the project is delivered + a KICKSTARTER BACKER BADGE on the LiveCode forums (forums.runrev.com). We invite you to join our forums where you can discuss the project and interact with the Development Team. Approx $5 USD
Pledge £12 or more About US$ 15
£3 Reward Tier + Full access to our successful GAME ACADEMY, our highly acclaimed APP ACADEMY & BRAND NEW for KICKSTARTER: MAKE THE SHEEP HERDER GAME ACADEMY + a BEHIND THE SCENES DOCUMENTARY on the MAKING OF LIVECODE. With over 70 videos, sample scripts and assets, you will have everything you need to get started creating your own apps! (Academies Delivered in March & Documentary Delivered in May 2013.) Approx $20 USD
£12 Reward Tier + APP ACADEMY EBOOK.
Get the entire App Academy as a handy printable PDF eBook, filled with pages of content on how to create your app, access device features and so much more. Approx $35 USD
£22 Reward Tier + Attend NEW ONLINE ACADEMY. Take part in Live Webinars with our experts choosing between courses 'How to build a new eBook Based Game' or 'Building a Database/Cloud App'. (Also available on replay recorded.) Approx $55 USD
£33 Reward Tier + High School Teacher Training 1 Day UK Workshop. Learn how to use LiveCode in your classroom. You must be able to travel to Edinburgh on the day of the Workshop. (Includes lunch, but not travel and accommodation costs).
£33 Reward Tier + High School Teacher Training 1 Day USA (East Coast) Workshop. Learn how to use LiveCode in your classroom. You must be able to travel to New York on the day of the Workshop. (Includes lunch, but not travel and accommodation costs). Approx $90 USD
£33 Previous Reward Tier + High School Teacher Training WEBINAR SERIES. Learn how to use LiveCode in your classroom in a series of Webinars recorded from in-person teacher training workshops. Approx $90 USD
£33 Reward Tier + LiveCode FULL COMMERCIAL LICENSE - 3 MONTHS for ALL Platforms! Use ANY TIME in 2013 to BUILD a CLOSED SOURCE app. Plus both NEW ACADEMIES (eBook, Database/Cloud), VIP FORUM BADGE and YOUR NAME in the LiveCode CREDITS. Approx $115 USD
£33 Reward Tier + 1 YEAR WEB HOSTING ON ON-REV.COM. Plus both NEW ACADEMIES (eBook, Database/Cloud), VIP FORUM BADGE and YOUR NAME in the LiveCode CREDITS. Approx $115 USD
Pledge £150 or more About US$ 189
£70 Reward Tier + 10 TEMPLATE APP GRAPHICS DESIGNS and a set of 50 GENERAL PURPOSE APP ICONS, complete with original PSD Files + 1x EXTERNAL of your choice from the MERGEXT COLLECTION + LIVECODE MOBILE DEVELOPMENT EBOOK by Colin Holgate + Limited Edition POSTCARD from the Team AND a Limited Edition LIVECODE EMBOSSED MOBILE PHONE SLEEVE Including FREE Worldwide Shipping. Approx $240 USD
£150 Reward Tier + 1 YEAR COMMERCIAL LICENSE ALL PLATFORMS (extends ANY license end date by 1 year for existing customers) + Limited Edition LIVECODE PLAYING CARDS full of Tips & Hints + Limited Edition "I KICKSTARTED LIVECODE" T-SHIRT! Approx $499 USD
£150 Reward Tier + LIVE SIMULCAST (STREAMING) ACCESS to RUNREVLIVE2013 + Limited Edition LIVECODE PLAYING CARDS full of Tips & Hints + Limited Edition "I KICKSTARTED LIVECODE" T-SHIRT! Approx $512 USD
£320 Reward Tier + SUPERCHARGED BUNDLE of COLLECTORS EDITION BOX Including: 1 YEAR COMMERCIAL LICENSE ALL PLATFORMS, New & Revised PRINTED LIVECODE SYNTAX DICTIONARIES with hundreds of updated language terms after final Kickstarter project delivery, Printed Edition LIVECODE MOBILE DEVELOPMENT BOOK by Colin Holgate PLUS our MARKETPLACE BUNDLE Including Commercial Licenses for: SQL YOGA, THE FULL SET OF MERGEXT EXTERNALS, ANIMATION ENGINE and MOBGUI. This Limited Edition Kickstarter-Only Box Set will include the First Edition of the Community Source Code + Commercial Edition Boxed Copy signed by the RunRev Team. Everything you need to create powerful commercial apps! Approx $1024 USD
Pledge £1,200 or more About US$ 1,508
£640 Reward Tier but with 3 YEAR COMMERCIAL LICENSE ALL PLATFORMS. (Replaces the 1 year license in lower tier.) Approx $1950 USD
£640 Reward Tier + PREMIUM RUNREVLIVE2013 CONFERENCE TICKET - Including Luxury Accommodation. You must be able to travel to and attend the Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland from 14th to 17th of May 2013. (Does not include travel costs to and from the conference). Approx $3,000 USD
£640 Reward Tier + LIFETIME COMMERCIAL LICENSE ALL PLATFORMS for one named individual! (Replaces the 1 year Commercial LiveCode License in lower tier.) Approx $3900 USD
£640 Reward Tier + 1 YEAR ENTERPRISE LICENSE* - You will receive Commercial Source Access, Premium SLA based Technical Support and Priority Bug Fixes. (Replaces the Commercial LiveCode License in lower tier.) Approx $5,000 USD
£3,125 Reward Tier + 3 Days in our Edinburgh Office with LiveCode Product Manager, Ben Beaumont. A great option for help with app or user experience design. (Travel not included.) Approx $7,850 USD
£3,125 Reward Tier + 2 Days in our Edinburgh Office with Chief Technical Officer, Mark Waddingham. The ideal package for assistance with the most advanced technical uses of LiveCode. (Travel not included.) Approx $7,850 USD
£3,125 Reward Tier + 2 Days Small Business Mentoring with Chief Executive Officer, Kevin Miller. The ideal way to gain entrepreneurial mentorship with your app development and marketing strategy. A total of 2x Days (16 Hours) in our Edinburgh Office or via Skype over a 1 year period. (Travel not included.) Approx $7,850 USD
Jan 29, 2013 - Feb 28, 2013 (30 days)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Closed Loop Scanning
retrieve nano-features over millimeter ranges (optional)
Science and technology delve deeper and deeper into the nanoworld. In particular, scanning probe & confocal microscopy have been concerned with features on the nanoscale ever since its invention. Reliably scanning over tens of micrometers range down to a few hundred nm is comparatively easily achieved by using piezo based scanners.
However, using piezo-based scanners usually relies on the assumption that the relation between applied voltage and displacement is linear. In reality, most scanners show large non-linear behaviour and hysteresis, especially for large scan ranges. Creep, i.e. drift in position after approaching a certain location, is a further phenomenon which is common to all piezo scanners.
In many experiments, reproducibly locating a small feature on a surface is crucial, and sometimes hysteresis and non-linearity in the acquired image are not acceptable. Sometimes, SPM images need to be evaluated for particularities and for the specific mutual distances of certain features, and hence, any distortions due to those nonlinearities may impede such analyses significantly.
Much more often, however, finding a certain region of interest or a particular feature on a macroscopic sample at all, or retrieving such locations repeatedly is a critical task.
Based on our patented FPSensor, a fiber-based interferometer, our microscopes can now be equipped with position closed loop sensors with featuring a steady-state resolution of down to 1 nm even in a, despite the cryogenic working environment.
At the same time, we implemented a fully digital scan engine in the ASC500 SPM controller, which now features location based data acquisition (as opposed to time-triggered data acquisition on open loop systems). In closed loop mode, this results in perfectly linearized images. The sophisticated scan engine even allows for an adjustment of the scan acceleration to smoothen the scanning motion at the turning points, which can be useful especially for higher scan speeds.
The most useful new features however is that since the FPSensor covers the full 5 mm x 5 mm range of the positioners, the scan widget now contains 'global' sample coordinates: usually, the maximum range accessible in closed loop mode is limited by the maximum range of the scanners. If the user wants to scan outside of this area, he can simply use the global sample coordinate system for navigation. To further facilitate this, any measured SPM images can simply be decorated onto the scan widget's sample 'canvas' via drag-and-drop, where they are put exactly at the measured coordinates. Hence, a virtual map of the whole sample gradually evolves within the scan widget.
Retrieving regions of interest on the nanoscale, which has always been extremely difficult and time consuming especially at low temperatures, is now an easy task thanks to this global sample coordinate system.
AFM with Built-in Sample GPS
SPM tip position indicated by red dot
current scan area
max. scan range at this position
global sample coordinate system
SPM image decoration in global coordinate system
Prof. Dr. Peter Michler
University of Stuttgart, Germany
Our attoCFM I LT-lithography setup is not only the best choice when it comes to stability requirements. Its closed loop scanning feature also allows us to optically pre-select quantum dots suitable for desired experiments and mark them in-situ via lithography with nanometric precision.


The space might also dictate the size of the cash containers. Private offices and homes may benefit from more compact containers since there is less traffic in such places. Public spaces will often need larger garbage containers in order to accommodate the larger amounts of waste being disposed. Kitchen trash containers in particular may be specifically sizable since food waste material is usually more plentiful than any other types of garbage. Waste products containers are also available with selected accessories that may increase their usefulness. Some areas may be suited to trash can lids, that is used to help control the overflow and disposal of waste. Garbage can covers may be designed to cover the can completely in order to maintain better air quality and keep away pests while other junk can lids may contain flaps to help regulate the flow of garbage as it is thrown out. If trash may lids are desired, it is vital to look exclusively by trash containers that can be bought with a matching lid. Other accessories may include wheels or dollies for easy transportation.
Mrspalmreader - Houseboat plumbing water pressure, tanks, showers. Houseboat plumbing 101, we'll look at water pressure, tanks, showers, filters, heaters, and pumps, as they are all popular words, and all common parts of a pressurized freshwater system. Houseboat on board water systems. The fresh water tank on your boat provides all of the clean, filtered water you will use in the sinks, showers, dishwasher, and ice makers the capacity of this tank will vary depending on your houseboat type there is a water gauge on the helm to check your supply if you are running low, you will need to head to the marina for a fill up careful water use by your whole crew can help avoid. Increasing water pressure on a houseboat : plumbing reddit. I'm thinking about what a bathroom remodel could look like on my houseboat, and one thing i want is higher water pressure for my showers, because. How does the bathroom work on a houseboat? our pastimes. The sewage on a houseboat empties into holding tanks that are located on the boat the sink and shower empty into a gray water holding tank the toilet empties into a black water holding tank holding tank treatment chemicals are put into the holding tanks through the sink and toilet to prevent bad odors holding tanks can be emptied at a harbor or at sea to empty a holding tank at a harbor. Boat plumbing boattech boatus. The pressure from the tank allows small amounts of water to be drawn without the necessity of the pump running, thus reducing pump cycling hot water a marine water heater is simply a small, insulated tank downstream of the pump. High water pressure and water heaters hope plumbing. High water pressure seems like a good thing no one wants a drip to come out of their faucet when they're trying to fill their bathtub but water pressure that is too high can cause a lot of problems for your plumbing system and wreak particular havoc on your water heater. Common causes of low water pressure the spruce. Another common cause for home water pressure problems is a faulty pressure regulator or pressure reducing valve a pressure regulator is a control valve that reduces the input pressure in your plumbing system to a safe level that will not damage your pipes. How to increase water pressure in your shower trade plumbing. Power showers give a wonderful shower of heated water and are ideal for homes where there is low water pressure from the water storage tanks fitting a shower pump will overcome low water flow rate and also remove the effect of the shower flow dropping when water is drawn off in another part of the property ; the situation you will find in most homes connections are made to the hot and cold. Residential water pressure explained. Good water pressure is something most homeowners take for granted there's nothing worse than coming home from a hard day at work, looking forward to a nice shower, only to be met by trickling water due to low pressure. 3 ways to increase water pressure wikihow. Increasing your water pressure often seems like a daunting chore there are many causes of low water pressure, yet many surprisingly simple remedies that you can perform yourself.


text:
title: Editing with a repository fork using the git command line
layout: reference
---

For more information refer to [Working with forks](https://help.github.com/articles/working-with-forks/) in the GitHub documentation.

* [Create and clone a fork repository to your computer (One time setup)](#create-and-clone)
* [Edit files in the `local` repository](#edit-files)
* [Push edits from your `local` to your `remote` fork repository](#push-edits-local-to-remote)
* [Open a pull request for the base repository](#open-pull-request)

## Create and clone a fork repository to your computer (One time setup)

>>
Note: You go through these steps exactly once to get everything setup. This set of steps:
* Creates a fork of the branch within GitHub.
  * This fork is a repository under your user name or organization.
  * This repository in GitHub is referred to as a `remote` repository,
* Clones the the remote repository (your fork) to your computer.
  * This clone is referred to as a `local` repository.

1. Go to [https://github.com/concur/developer.concur.com](https://github.com/concur/developer.concur.com).
1. Click the **Fork** button in the upper right hand corner of the page.
1. Select the user or organization for the fork. A new fork is created.
1. In the new fork, click the **Clone or download** button.
  1. Choose the method you wish to use, HTTPS or SSH.
  1. Copy the URI path for the method.
1. Open a command line interface.
1. Navigate to the path where you want to store source code. If you need a guide on how to do this via the command prompt here is one for [MacOS](https://www.macworld.com/article/2042378/master-the-command-line-navigating-files-and-folders.html) and [Windows](https://www.digitalcitixzen.life/command-prompt-how-use-basic-commands). Typically it is `cd {path}` on both.
1. Issue: `git clone {uri}` where `uri` is the path copied earlier. Example: `git clone https://github.com/retrosight/developer.concur.com.git`. A typical result of cloning is as follows.

```shell
➜  source git clone git@github.com:retrosight/developer.concur.com.git
Cloning into 'developer.concur.com'...
remote: Enumerating objects: 6, done.
remote: Counting objects: 100% (6/6), done.
remote: Compressing objects: 100% (6/6), done.
remote: Total 31798 (delta 0), reused 0 (delta 0), pack-reused 31792
Receiving objects: 100% (31798/31798), 185.39 MiB | 5.52 MiB/s, done.
Resolving deltas: 100% (20992/20992), done.
```

## Edit files in the `local` repository

> Note: Since you are working in a fork you can start editing straightaways without creating a branch.

1. Launch the editor of your choice.
1. Select **File > Open** in and select the folder containing your source.
1. Edit and save files as desired.

## Push edits from your `local` to your `remote` fork repository

> This cycle is repeated as many times as you wish to push changes in your `local` fork repository to your `remote` fork repository in GitHub.

In the command line after navigating to the `local` repository folder:

1. Issue: `git add .` This tells git to add any and all changes you've made.
1. Issue: `git commit` This opens a text editing tool so you can add notes about the commit. See the [VIM on Mac](#vim-on-mac) section below for additional notes.
1. Issue: `git push origin preview`. You can read that command this way: **git** please **push** my changes to the **origin** aka the repository matching this local one and the **preview** branch in that remote repository. A typical result of the output of this cycle is as follows.

```shell
➜  developer.concur.com git:(preview) git add .
➜  developer.concur.com git:(preview) ✗ git commit
[preview 97db50cb] Adding the steps to work with forks.
 1 file changed, 37 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 src/editing-with-a-repository-fork.md
 ➜  developer.concur.com git:(preview) git push origin preview
Counting objects: 8, done.
Delta compression using up to 8 threads.
Compressing objects: 100% (8/8), done.
Writing objects: 100% (8/8), 2.31 KiB | 2.31 MiB/s, done.
Total 8 (delta 5), reused 0 (delta 0)
remote: Resolving deltas: 100% (5/5), completed with 2 local objects.
To github.com:retrosight/developer.concur.com.git
   cf7afef0..33c025d7  preview -> preview
```
### VIM on Mac

1. Press the **lowercase i** key to change to 'Insert' mode.
1. Type out your notes in the first line.
1.  Press the **ESC** key to exit out of 'Insert' mode.
1. Type the following: `:wq`
1. Press the **Enter** key.

## Open a pull request for the base repository

> These steps request the maintainer of the base repository accept your proposed changes and begin the review process for same.

1. In the browser navigate to the home page for your fork repository.
1. Click the **New pull request** button.
1. Take note of the fork and branch and the arrow is pointing in the desired direction, from your fork (`head`) to the parent (`base`).
1. Click the **Create pull request** button.

```
[base fork: concur/developer.concur.com v ] [base: preview v ] <- [head fork: retrosight/developer.concur.com v ] [compare: preview v ]
            |      |                               |           |              |          |                                  |
            org    repository                      branch      |              org        repository                         branch
                                                               direction
```


text:
Business advice from is4profit | Five-day Cheque Clearance "too long" say Treasury Committee |
Five-day Cheque Clearance "too long" say Treasury Committee
The is4profit team	September 2, 2011
Banks and the UK Payments Council must work together to speed up cheque processing so they take less than five days to clear, the Treasury Select Committee has said.
An inquiry by the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee supported the recent decision by the Payments Council to retain cheques, but said that it must work with banks to process cheques faster than the five day average.
A Committee spokesman said it wanted to see banks improve their internal administrative procedures in order to reduce the length of time it took for cheques to clear, but that no time frame had been specified.
Forum of Private Business spokesman Phil McCabe said that faster clearance times would be a very positive move.
"It would make a real difference for small firms if funds were to clear quicker because of more efficient processing. Many businesses struggle to balance their cashflow and this is likely to make life easier for the thousands of small firms who receive cheques from customers."
Improving cheque security, and reducing the uncertainty over when funds become available in the payee's account, would also be beneficial, he added.
The Committee's recommendations come one month after the Payments Council announced its decision to scrap plans to phase out cheques by 2018. The Council has confirmed that cheques will continue for "as long as customers need them".
Banks too, have been warned by the Committee that they must not attempt to abolish cheques "by stealth" or deter customers from using them
Last year approximately 1.1 billion cheques were written, of which around 493 million were paid out by businesses. While popular with consumers and small firms, cheques were often seen as an administrative burden by banks.
Tags:chequestreasury committee
Customer Cheques not Guaranteed from Jun...
Cheques Will Not be Scrapped as "...


text:
Bee Hive is a  Navajo Sandstone mountain in Zion National Park in Washington County, Utah, United States, that is part of the Towers of the Virgin.

Description
Bee Hive is located north of the park headquarters at the south entrance to Zion Canyon. The east face of Bee Hive, named The Streaked Wall, rises  above the floor of Zion Canyon. Neighbors include Altar of Sacrifice and Meridian Tower to the west, and The Sentinel to the northeast. The peak's descriptive name is for the beehive shape of the summit. This name was officially adopted in 1934 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains into the North Fork Virgin River.

Climate
Spring and fall are the most favorable seasons to see Bee Hive Peak. According to the Köppen climate classification system, it is located in a Cold semi-arid climate zone, which is defined by the coldest month having an average mean temperature below 32 °F (0 °C), and at least 50% of the total annual precipitation being received during the spring and summer. This desert climate receives less than  of annual rainfall, and snowfall is generally light during the winter.

Climbing Regulations
A bivouac permit is required from the park visitor center for any climbs expected to last overnight.

Gallery

See also

 List of mountains of Utah
 Geology of the Zion and Kolob canyons area
 Colorado Plateau

References

External links

Zion National Park National Park Service
 Bee Hive: Weather forecast

Mountains of Utah
Zion National Park
Mountains of Washington County, Utah
Colorado Plateau
North American 2000 m summits

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
PCMag UK Computers & Electronics Components Processors
By Laarni Almendrala Ragaza
6 Aug 2015, 10:27 p.m.
With its Core i7-6700K processor ($350), Intel has finally rolled out the first of its sixth-generation Core CPUs. Built on Intel's 14nm "Sky Lake" architecture, the newest chip offers the best performance to date over most CPUs on the market. However, it's the Z170 chipset that comes along with it that has people buzzing. That's because the chipset supports both DDR3 and DDR4 memory, and adds more PCI Express (PCIe) lanes for multiple-video-card systems and speedy PCIe-based storage.
The Core i7-6700K and every sixth-generation Core CPU requires a new motherboard. That's because the chips have an extra pin, and so use a socket called LGA 1151. The Z170 chipset supports up to three PCIe-based drives in a system, as well as up to six SATA 6Gbps ports. For external storage, Z170 now supports up to 10 native USB 3.0 ports (up from six in Z97 boards) and 14 USB 2.0 ports. There's no express mention of USB 3.1, either type A or C, so support for that will likely continue to depend on supplemental chips added to specific board models.
Intel has wisely carried over support for DDR3 RAM, along with DDR4. So, if you have an existing system and you're looking to upgrade, you may be able to bring over your old memory if the motherboard you're looking at supports DDR3.
If your system has a recent, high-end Intel Core CPU, it might not be worth it to make the jump to Intel's latest chip, particularly since you'll likely have to buy a new motherboard as well. If your system has a Core i7-3770K or older CPU or an AMD FX chip, the Core i7-6700K will give your PC a noticeable performance boost in both CPU-intensive tasks and those that can make use of both the CPU and the chip's HD 530 graphics.
For more details, check out the Intel Core i7-6700K review on our sister site, Computer Shopper.
Intel CEO: AMD Is in the 'Rear View Mirror' After Alder Lake CPU Launch
Intel Reportedly Preparing to Build New Chip Factory in Ohio
TSMC Budgets Up to $44 Billion to Boost Chip Production in 2022
Samsung's Exynos Chip With AMD RDNA 2 Graphics Is Mysteriously Delayed
Intel Accused of 'Cowardice' for Deleting Mention of China's Xinjiang From Website
About Laarni Almendrala Ragaza
Laarni Almendrala Ragaza is the Managing Editor for the Hardware team. She is in charge of reviewing and testing desktops, laptops, netbooks, monitors, external hard drives, components (such as CPUs and graphics card), and peripheral devices, as well as keeping a motley group of lead analysts happy.
Laarni started her career with PC Magazine in 2000 as a staff editor for the Network Infrastructure team. Over the years, she has taken several positions, usually within the realm of Hardware, including Associate Editor, Section Editor, PCMag Labs Director, and a brief stint as Reviews Editor for the Consumer Electronics team.
Laarni earned a Master's Degree in Radio and Television from …
More From Laarni Almendrala Ragaza
Amazon STEM Club Toy Subscription Review
Mattel View-Master Virtual Reality Viewer Starter Pack Review
The Best Laptops Under $500
HP Compaq Presario S4000T


text:
Q: HMAccessoryDelegate Method not called I want to get value of updatable characteristics for particular accessory.
So I am using func accessory(accessory: HMAccessory!, service: HMService!, didUpdateValueForCharacteristic characteristic: HMCharacteristic!) method.
But this method is not called. Another method from same delegate is being called. What should be the problem?

A: Enabled notification for the characteristic in viewWillAppear.
for (HMCharacteristic *thisCharacteristic in characteristicsArray) {
    if ([thisCharacteristic.properties containsObject:HMCharacteristicPropertySupportsEventNotification]) {
        [thisCharacteristic enableNotification:TRUE completionHandler:^(NSError *error) {
            if (error) {
                NSLog(@"Error while enabling notification");
            }
            else    {
                NSLog(@"Notification enabled");
            }
        }];
    }

Also Disable the notification in viewWillDisappear


text:
<@ if (obj.modalText !== undefined) { @>
<@= obj.modalText @>
The profile has not been published yet.
Click "Publish"
to make it visible for other users.
Although you can privately share
the unpublished profile.
Url: <@= obj.url @>
Once logged in, you can add biography in the database
Directories Newly added
Create Biography
<@ if (obj.iw_content) { @>
<@= obj.iw_content @>
<@}@> <@ _.forEach(personProfiles, function(personProfile, index) { @> <@ if(index < 12) { @> <@ personHref = baseUrl + personProfile.seoUrl; avatar.src = baseUrl + '/show-profile-photo-icon.jpg?id=' + personProfile.id + '&width=130'; avatar.alt = (personProfile.fullName).replace(/<\/?mark>/g, ""); @>
<@= personProfile.fullName @>
<@ _.forEach(personProfile.activities, function(activity, index, collection) { if (collection.length === (index + 1)) {@> <@= activity@> <@} else {@> <@= activity + ',' @> <@}@> <@ }); @>
<@ } }); @>
<@ if (personProfiles.length > 12) {@>
<@= who @>
<@= birthDateStr2 @> <@= age @> <@= birthPlace@>
<@= career @>
Please contact your library to access this service.
You can find more information about our Subscription services here.
Robert Monckton
June 24, 1726 (age 55)
Monckton entered the 3rd Foot Guards in 1741, became a captain in the 34th in 1744 and major in 1747. He served at Dettingen and at Fontenoy. In 1751, he became lieutenant-colonel of the 47th and followed his father as a member of Parliament for Pontefract. After joining his regiment in Nova Scotia in 1752, Monckton commanded at Fort Lawrence from August to June 1753, when he was appointed a provincial councilor. In December, he quelled an insurrection of German immigrants at Lunenburg by "moderate management and most judicious measures" rather than by force. In June 1755, at the head of 270 regulars and nearly 2, 000 New Englanders, he accomplished the only successful British action of the summer, taking Fort Beausejour in an admirably executed two weeks' campaign and destroying the French control of the isthmus. For his "zeal and ability" in this service, he was made lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia. Until November he remained in Chignecto and followed Gov. Charles Lawrence's orders in destroying French villages and in collecting 1, 100 French inhabitants for removal southward. In 1756, he was disciplining the 600 new recruits of his regiment in his customary kindly, firm manner, and in December 1757 he was appointed colonel of the 2nd Battalion of the Royal American Regiment. In 1758, he acted as governor in Lawrence's absence, commanded in Nova Scotia during Amherst's siege of Louisbourg, and from September to November led an expedition up the River St. John to reduce that section to British obedience. Though Amherst had designed him to succeed Forbes as commander in the south, he was selected by Wolfe in England, and approved by Pitt, as second in command of the Quebec expedition of 1759, with the temporary rank of brigadier-general. He was at the actions of Point Lévis and Montmorency was wounded through the lungs at the battle of the Plains and commanded in Canada until ill health forced him south. In October, he became colonel of the 17th. In 1760, he received from Amherst the command of the southern district and was at various posts in Pennsylvania and western New York. In 1761, saw his merits gain full recognition, for he was named the governor of New York, major-general, and commander-in-chief of an expedition against Martinique. Sailing in November, he effected in conjunction with Admiral Rodney the surrender of the island by February 5, in a sharp, soldierly campaign. In June, he returned to assume his government of New York, where his "easy disposition" scarcely fitted him for rigorous administration, and a year later left for England. In 1764, a court-martial triumphantly acquitted him of a trumpery charge brought against him by a cashiered officer, Colin Campbell. In 1765, he became governor of Berwick-on-Tweed; in 1770 lieutenant-general. Three years later, he petitioned both King and Parliament for the appointment in India as second in command under Warren Hastings; he was offered instead of the chief command in North America, which he refused. The next year he represented Pontefract in Parliament, and in 1778 Portsmouth, having been appointed the governor of Portsmouth.
School period
Proceedings of a general Court Martial, held at the Judge Advocate's office, in the Horse Guards, ... 1764; for the trial of a charge preferred by ... Esq; against ... Major General Monckton.
(The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration a...)
The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration and rapidly growing technology and expanding record-keeping made possible by advances in the printing press. In its determination to preserve the century of revolution, Gale initiated a revolution of its own: digitization of epic proportions to preserve these invaluable works in the largest archive of its kind. Now for the first time these high-quality digital copies of original 18th century manuscripts are available in print, making them highly accessible to libraries, undergraduate students, and independent scholars. Delve into what it was like to live during the eighteenth century by reading the first-hand accounts of everyday people, including city dwellers and farmers, businessmen and bankers, artisans and merchants, artists and their patrons, politicians and their constituents. Original texts make the American, French, and Industrial revolutions vividly contemporary. ++++ The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++ British Library T002389 London : printed for James Robson, 1764. 98p. ; 8°
https://www.amazon.com/Proceedings-general-Advocates-preferred-Monckton/dp/1170178537?SubscriptionId=AKIAJRRWTH346WSPOAFQ&tag=prabook-20&linkCode=sp1&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=1170178537
Life Stance
William Shubrick
Gordon Granger
Edward Burleson
Wilhelm Fahrmbacher
Robert Monckton	Edit Profile
Robert Monckton was a British lieutenant-general.
Robert Monckton was the second son of John Monckton, created Viscount Galway in 1727, and of his wife Lady Elizabeth Manners, daughter of the second Duke of Rutland.
Monckton entered the 3rd Foot Guards in 1741, became a captain in the 34th in 1744 and major in 1747. He served at Dettingen and at Fontenoy. In 1751, he became lieutenant-colonel of the 47th and followed his father as a member of Parliament for Pontefract. After joining his regiment in Nova Scotia in 1752, Monckton commanded at Fort Lawrence from August to June 1753, when he was appointed a provincial councilor. In December, he quelled an insurrection of German immigrants at Lunenburg by "moderate management and most judicious measures" rather than by force.
In June 1755, at the head of 270 regulars and nearly 2, 000 New Englanders, he accomplished the only successful British action of the summer, taking Fort Beausejour in an admirably executed two weeks' campaign and destroying the French control of the isthmus. For his "zeal and ability" in this service, he was made lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia. Until November he remained in Chignecto and followed Gov. Charles Lawrence's orders in destroying French villages and in collecting 1, 100 French inhabitants for removal southward. In 1756, he was disciplining the 600 new recruits of his regiment in his customary kindly, firm manner, and in December 1757 he was appointed colonel of the 2nd Battalion of the Royal American Regiment. In 1758, he acted as governor in Lawrence's absence, commanded in Nova Scotia during Amherst's siege of Louisbourg, and from September to November led an expedition up the River St. John to reduce that section to British obedience. Though Amherst had designed him to succeed Forbes as commander in the south, he was selected by Wolfe in England, and approved by Pitt, as second in command of the Quebec expedition of 1759, with the temporary rank of brigadier-general. He was at the actions of Point Lévis and Montmorency was wounded through the lungs at the battle of the Plains and commanded in Canada until ill health forced him south. In October, he became colonel of the 17th. In 1760, he received from Amherst the command of the southern district and was at various posts in Pennsylvania and western New York.
In 1761, saw his merits gain full recognition, for he was named the governor of New York, major-general, and commander-in-chief of an expedition against Martinique. Sailing in November, he effected in conjunction with Admiral Rodney the surrender of the island by February 5, in a sharp, soldierly campaign. In June, he returned to assume his government of New York, where his "easy disposition" scarcely fitted him for rigorous administration, and a year later left for England. In 1764, a court-martial triumphantly acquitted him of a trumpery charge brought against him by a cashiered officer, Colin Campbell. In 1765, he became governor of Berwick-on-Tweed; in 1770 lieutenant-general. Three years later, he petitioned both King and Parliament for the appointment in India as second in command under Warren Hastings; he was offered instead of the chief command in North America, which he refused. The next year he represented Pontefract in Parliament, and in 1778 Portsmouth, having been appointed the governor of Portsmouth.
Robert Monckton has been listed as a noteworthy army officer, colonial governor by Marquis Who's Who.
There is no record of his marriage, but Monckton left three sons and one daughter.
John Monckton
Lady Elizabeth Manners
Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New York
Northcliffe: An Intimate Biography
The Siege of Quebec: And the Battle of the Plains of Abraham: V.2
May 21, 1782 (aged 55)
St Mary Abbots Church, Kensington, Greater London, England
Official Titles
Lieutenant-general
About FAQ Mobile Version Disclaimer Privacy Policy Contacts Subscription Veteran's Album
Prabook is a registered trademark of World Biographical Encyclopedia, Inc.
Version 2.0.47.1177 2020


text:
Night Gallery season 2 episode 3: Since Aunt Ada Came to Stay/With Apologies to Mr. Hyde/The Flip-Side of Satan
Posted on January 27, 2023 by bandsaboutmovies
As I started discussing last week, the second season of Night Gallery is all about the split between Rod Serling and Jack Laird and their two visions for the show. This episode speaks to that and is the first to not have a story written by Serling.
"Since Aunt Ada Came to Stay" is a very 1970s occult story, as Professor Craig Lowell (James Farentino, Dead and Buried) comes to believe that his wife Joanna's (Michele Lee, Karen from Knots Landing) elderly Aunt Ada (Jeanette Nolan) is not related at all but instead an incredibly powerful and quite evil magical being.
Directed by William Hale, written by Alvin Sapinsley and taken from "The Witch" by A.E. van Vogt, this story is also blessed by a small role for Jonathan Harris as a true occult believer of a teacher.
This totally could be an entire episode — and I wish it was — but it moves quickly and is a blast.
"With Apologies to Mr. Hyde" is another Jeannot Szwarc and Jack Laird quick story, this time with Adam West as the literary villain. Laird is in this as a hunchback as well, just to confirm that when people want to be known for being creators in the wrong way, they show up in their own material.
"The Flip-Side of Satan" has J.J. Wilson (Arte Johnson) as a DJ who soon learns that he is in Hell and on the air for the last time. This story worked so well that Tales from the Darkside also did a version with Jerry Stiller transforming into a monster as he takes calls for all of his eternal punishment in a story written by George A. Romero and directed by Michael Gornick.
This story is written by Jerrold Freedman, whose last directing job was as the Alan Smithee who made The O.J. Simpson Story, as well as much better TV movie work like A Cold Night's Death, The Boy Who Drank Too Much, Victims and the theatrical Racquel Welch roller derby movie Kansas City Bomber, and written by Malcolm Marmorstein (who somehow both wrote Mary Mary Bloody Mary and Pete's Dragon) and Gerald Sanford from a story by Hal Dresner (Sssssss, Zorro the Gay Blade), this is a welcome return to form after that quick Laird story.
If you can skip that moment of Adam West overacting, well, you just may like this episode.
Posted in Made for TV Movie Tagged 1971 Leave a comment
Night Gallery season 2 episode 2: Death in the Family/The Merciful/Class of '99/Witches' Feast
As the second season of Night Gallery goes in two directions — the Serling side growing in dark energy and the Laird side being inane pablum — this episode has three of four stories directed by Jeannot Szwarc, who directed the TV movies Night of Terror, The Devil's Daughter and You'll Never See Me Again as well as Bug, Jaws 2, Somewhere In Time and, well, Supergirl and Santa Claus: The Movie. Let's focus on the good like this episode.
"Death In the Family" was written by Rod Serling from a story by Miriam Allen DeFord. This is one of the segments on this show that could be a whole film. Doran (Desi Arnaz Jr., House of Long Shadows) is a prisoner on the run that hides in the funeral home — and home — of Jared Soames (E.G. Marshall), a man who has a secret of his own. The end of this episode is so perfectly dark and yet filled with love, another wonderful trip to Serling's imagination.
"The Merciful" is another Jack Laird-written chapter, based on a Charles L. Sweeney Jr. story. A man (King Donovan) is kept away from his wife (Imogene Coca) by a brick wall in another sketch that takes from a classic story is over in minutes.
"Class of '99" works so well not just because of the tight script by Serling, but also because Vincent Price is able to be so sinister — and perfect — in his role of a teacher instruction the students of tomorrow in the violent ways of the past. Classism and racism are explored as he gives his class a final oral test and finds them all lacking. I just read a site that claims that this segment suffered from Serling's "heavy-handed moralizing and misanthropic undertones." That's why I watch Night Gallery.
"Witches' Feast" comes from director Jerrold Freedman and written by Gene Kearney. The cast is fine — Agnes Moorehead, Ruth Buzzi, Fran Ryan and Allison McKay — yet this is the very epitome of pointless, particularly in the same show that had two classic segments by Serling.
This Pop Matters article sums up the issue of Night Gallery so well: "Laird hated Serling's downbeat, moralistic material. As a populist, he appreciated the clear cut over the complicated. He didn't mind the dread or the depression, but there had to be a happy ending — or at least a little light at the end of the tunnel — before the final credits rolled."
Some think Serling would check out by the end of this season. We'll see.
Night Gallery season 2 episode 1: The Boy Who Predicted Earthquakes/Miss Lovecraft Sent Me/The Hand of Borgus Weems/Phantom of What Opera?
As Night Gallery moved into its second season, it would start becoming schizophrenic, caught between the darkness and the light of pained comedy or more to the point, creator Rod Serling versus producer Jack Laird. Yet when it works, well, man does it work.
I think about "The Boy That Predicted Earthquakes" so often. Directed by John Badham, years before he'd make Saturday Night Fever, it was written by Rod Serling from a Margaret St. Clair story. Clint Howard is astounding as Herbie Bittman, a young boy who simply talks like a real little kid going on and on about telescopes before dropping apocalyptic knowledge on TV audiences. What kid could hopefully deliver a message of hope when he knows that the world will end horribly the very next day? What a Satanic moment in a series known for so many, a child delivering the burnt out worldview of Serling to the masses. A near-perfect segment worth endlessly rewatching.
Less can be said about "Miss Lovecraft Sent Me," the first of too many "black out" gags which has Joseph Campanella as a vampire and Sue Lyon as a babysitter. Director Gene R. Kearney wrote Night of the Lepus and would go on to contribute to the beloved 1979 series Cliffhangers, but the fact that he was involved in Laird putting his insipid fingerprints all over a masterwork is a strike against him. At. least Lyon is gorgeous; she did better work in Lolita and Murder In a Blue World.
"The Hand of Borgus Weems" has that most horrific and hoary of horror tropes: the haunted human hand. Peter Lacland (George Maharis) claims that his hand is possessed and demands that Doctor Archibald Ravadon (Ray Milland) amputate it. It's simple and effective, with assured direction by John Meredyth Lucas, a producer on Star Trek and the director of several episodes of the Planet of the Apes TV series. Its writer, Alvin Sapinsley, also wrote Moon of the Wolf.
Sadly, "Phantom of What Opera?" is another gag with Leslie Neilsen as the Phantom and Mary Ann Beck as his victim. Directed and written by Kearney, it's exactly the kind of two-minute silliness that would continue to mar this show all season long.
What do you think of this episode? Which story is your favorite? Let me know in the comments.
You can buy the second season of Night Gallery on blu ray from Kino Lorber.
JEAN ROLLIN-URAY: The Shiver of the Vampires (1971)
Posted on January 8, 2023 by bandsaboutmovies
Also known as Sex and Vampires, Strange Things Happen at Night, Terror of the Vampires, Thrill of the Vampire and Vampire Thrills, this is the third time that Jean Rollin would bring a vampire movie to the screen. Look, if you're obsessed, you're obsessed.
Isle (Sandra Julien, Je Suis Frigide… Pourquoi?) and Antoine (Jean-Marie Durand) have just arrived in town for their honeymoon, only to learn that the cousins they plan on staying with have died. But hey — they're house is open, right? And it's totally not weird that the two servants (Marie-Pierre Castel and Kuelan Herce) just tell them to stay. Nor is it otherworldly that Isolde (Dominique) emerges from a clock and soon, she's unable to go out into the sun.
Every woman is naked, bras have spikes in them, castles are filled with fog, Rollin shows a love of the lighting and colors of Bava and the band Acanthu is just rocking so hard that no one can yell loud enough over them to tell them, "Hey this is a dreamy sapphic vampire movie, maybe stop rocking so hard" and they're just headbanging and smoke is everywhere and just go with it, man.
Also: Not the last lesbian vampire movie Rollin had in him.
You can watch this on Tubi and Kino Cult.
Posted in Movie reviews Tagged 1971 Leave a comment
Night Gallery episode 6: They're Tearing Down Tim Riley's Bar/The Last Laurel
First airing on January 20, 1971, this episode of Night Gallery fully embraces the darkness of the world, as a man grows old and the world changes around him in the first story, one I have gone back to watch again and again.
"They're Tearing Down Tim Riley's Bar" is directed by Don Taylor (Damien: Omen II, The Final Countdown, Escape from the Planet of the Apes) and written by host Rod Serling is the story of Randy Lane (William Windom), who returned home from the war, had a party at Riley's, got married and found a great job in plastics. But that was 25 years ago and now, his wife is dead, the job is a dead end and they're tearing down Tim Riley's Bar.
His boss (John Randolph) has forgotten him. His assistant (Bert Convey!) is after his job. The only person who seems to care is his secretary (Diane Baker) but he's blinded by grief and can't see it. All he can do is drink himself into oblivion and wander the old places of his life and bear witness to the ghosts of the past, much better spirits than he sees every day.
Not really horror, not even scary, this is one of the best segments of the show and was nominated for an Emmy. The older I get, the more it upsets me, but that's why when Serling is good, there's no one better, even if the ending is way too simple.
"The Last Laurel" was directed by Daryl Duke, who would go on to make The Silent Partner and The Thorn Birds. Written by Serling from a story by David Grubb, it suffers by comparison to the first half of this episode. Jack Cassidy plays Marius Davis, a man dying and unable to stop his gorgeous wife Susan (Martine Beswick) from sleeping with the man treating him in his last moments, Doctor Armstrong (Martin E. Brooks). Of course, there's revenge by astral projection.
This ends the first season of Night Gallery yet it feels like things are just getting started.
What's your favorite episode?
Cold Eyes of Fear (1971)
Nearly every Italian exploitation director tried their hands at the giallo, but Enzo G. Castellari is probably better known for making seven movies with Franco Nero (High Crime; Street Law; Cry, Onion!; Keoma; The Shark Hunter; Day of the Cobra and Jonathan of the Bears) as well as The Inglorious Bastards, House by the Edge of the Lake, The Last Shark and a trilogy of outstanding armageddon films: 1990: The Bronx Warriors, Escape from the Bronx and The New Barbarians.
This would be his only giallo, written with Tito Carpi after being inspired by the all-in-one-apartment feel of Wait Until Dark as well as The Boys in the Band and The Desperate Hours, which explains its alternate title Desperate Moments.
When Peter Flower (Gianni Garko, Sartana in my mind forever) picks up the gorgeous Anna (Giovanna Ralli, What Have They Done to Your Daughters?) — or maybe hires her? — and takes her back to his uncle Juez's (Fernando Rey) house. He doesn't realize that Arthur Welt (Frank Wolff) and Quill (Julián Mateos) have been stalking the house, as the uncle was the judge who sent them all to jail.
An American star who stayed in Europe to act in tons of movies — thanks to the advice of Roger Corman — Wolff would sadly kill himself weeks after finishing this film. His wife wrote the American dialogue, as this was filmed for foreign audiences, but then she left him. He was clinically depressed; she found another man; he found a younger women who supposedly didn't return his affection. He literally cut his carotid artery with two razors. He was in tons of great movies — Once Upon a Time In the West, Carnal Circuit, Death Walks On High Heels — and it makes seeing him in this quite sad.
Welt dresses as a cop and continually tells Peter that they are both above Anna and Quill. After all, they both drink J&B, right? That makes them a higher class. By the end of the movie, he's totally unhinged and that makes sense, as his wife left him during the shooting and he never recovered.
This starts with a scene that seems giallo — a gorgeous woman is menaced with a switchblade — but that's the first plot twist as this is simply an S&M show. It also has full on jazz freakout music by Ennio Morricone and Castellari pulling off insane things like shooting scenes through glasses of ice. It slows down for some parts, but the sum is greater than the parts, so I ended up really being entertained.
Cinematic Void January Giallo 2023: The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh (1971)
EDITOR'S NOTE: Cinematic Void will be playing this film — my favorite giallo — on Thursday, Jan. 18 at the Central Cinema in Knoxville, TN. For more information, visit Cinematic Void.
Sergio Martino's directorial efforts have run the gamut — from straight exploitation (Mondo Sex and Mountain of the Cannibal God, which features Stacy Keach and Ursula Andress, as well as real animal mutilation which we'd never endorse) to horror (Island of the Fishmen, which in addition to starring Barbara Bach and Joseph Cotten, was re-edited by Jim Wynorski and re-entitled Screamers), post-apocalyptic action (2019: After the Fall of New York and Hands of Steel, which is more Terminator rip off than Road Warrior), spaghetti westerns, crime dramas, war films, comedies and even Italian TV, where he's worked for the last several decades. But this week we're here to discuss his contributions to the world of giallo.
This is his first effort and the start of the ensemble case in which he'd use in his films. George Hilton would appear in four of his films, Ivan Rassimov in three and one of the queens of the giallo, Edwige Fenech, would star in three (in fact, she was married to Sergio's brother, the late producer Luciano Martino, at one time).
Wondering why this film isn't just titled The Strange Vice of Mrs. Ward? Turns out a woman named Mrs. Ward sued before the release, claiming that the film would ruin her good reputation, so they changed the title. Yes, Italy, the country where you can make a movie called Zombi 2 and have nothing to do with the original film still has legal settlements such as this. You can also find this movie under the titles Blade of the Ripper, Next! and The Next Victim.
Julie Wardh (Fenech) is the wealthy heir to a retailing company. But she's also a fragile flower, back in Vienna, a city packed with memories and former lovers. She's married to Neil (Alberto de Mendoza from Horror Express and A Lizard in a Woman's Skin), a man so wealthy and powerful that he leaves for business the moment they land.
As Julie rides alone in the rain, her car is stopped by the police who are on the hunt for a killer. The sound of the wiper blades reminds her of the last time she was here, recalling a vicious fight between her and a lover who repeatedly slapped her around before they made love in the rain. There's a gorgeous shot here at the end, where the lovers are to the left of the camera while rain descends on them, almost illuminating them and the lights of a sports car push into the right foreground. Compared to other giallo which seem content to merely ape Argento or seem like boring police procedurals, Martino aspires to art within his direction.
A green light and honking horns snap Julie from her reverie and she returns to her apartment, where she takes strange notice of a car. Her apartment has been left exactly as it was the last time she was here — it's a white pop art explosion of metallic, green and blue lines contrasted with oval windows — and just as she's getting ready to take a bath, the buzzer rings. A dozen roses with a note attached: The worst part of you is the best thing you have and will always be mine – Jean.
We cut to a party, where Caroll (Conchita Airoldi, who would go on to produce Cemetery Man) is trying to hook Julie up with her cousin George (George Hilton, All the Colors of the Dark, The Case of the Bloody Iris) as a catfight between two girls in paper dresses goes down. Tell you what — if I am to learn anything from giallo, it's that every party in 1970's Italy was packed with drugs, crazy music and the chance that anything from a fistfight to an orgy could happen at any minute. People had to be exhausted all the time. Jean (Ivan Rassimov from Planet of the Vampires, Your Vice is a Locked Door and Only I Have the Key, Eaten Alive!), the guy who sent the roses and was the man she remembered in the earlier flashback, is there extending a salute. This enrages Julie, who leaves the party, but he follows her into the street. He reminds her that she belongs to him, but she counters that she married Neil to escape him, which is cemented when Neil shows up and punches the dude. Jean just laughs, looking at both of them, knowing that he owns Julie body and soul.
This leads to a flashback where Jean pours champagne all over her, soaking her dress, then smashes the bottle of champagne, showering her in glass shards. He uses what's left of the bottle to slice up her dress and skin before he takes her. Their coupling is a mix of pleasure and pain, covered in blood, that she had to escape. But did she want to?
So what then is Mrs. Wardh's strange vice? Is it for men that are bad for her? Is it for pain and dominance? Or some combination of both? As we learn, she's caught between three men — her husband, whose cool indifference and emotional (and physical) unavailability is just as cruel as her former lover Jean, who owns her to the point that she is nearly his again before Neil showed up to hit him. And the third side of this love rectangle (is there such a thing?) is George, who is the porridge to her Goldilocks — the just right combination of both. Yet there is a fifth side to this — making it a love pentagon (!?!) — with Julie wanting to be a good woman, true to her vows and not to her need to be beaten, bloodied and forced. She is torn between her desire and her need to fit into the moral code of the world. So much of giallo is based on this — created in a country where the Holy Seat of a religious empire sits smack dab in the middle of Rome. Religion and morality nearly shook hands with the sexual revolution and excesses of the pre-AIDS 1970s.
Ah, but let's not forget that a proper giallo needs a murder, which this film delivers with a quick slash in the shower. That said — what strikes me about Martino is that unlike Argento, he cares more about the story and the characters than creating murder art set pieces. The conversation between Carol and Julie isn't just words on a page, they're vital clues into her mental state. Whereas Carol's casual amorality is revealed, saying that the killer — who we just saw attack the showering girl — is taking out her competition, Julie worries about her values. She married Neil for security and protection, but not the monetary or physical kind. She wanted protection from herself, as she feels that her loss of control and willingness to submit to the violent impulses of men makes her a sinner.
George shows up to meet Julie and get to know her better. He even tells her that he loves to court women when their husbands are around, cuckolding them. Julie claims that that leaves her cold, while Carol claims that she'd bed him, family or not. They decide to go to lunch together, which seems to be more about George staring at Julie than sustenance. Julie demands that George take her to the bus station, but instead he takes her all over the countryside on his motorcycle (What is it with Fenech's character and dudes that ride bikes? Is it the freedom that it represents?) while he wears white leather fringe, a look that is very 1971. He calls her the moment that she enters the house and she tells him that she likes him way too much, so she can never see him again. Of course, he's already there and enters the front door before kissing her. She tries to get away, but he keeps telling her that he is in love with her. She begs him to not complicate her life, that she is not the girl he thinks she is. Their kiss is artfully compressed into a second kiss that occurs much later that same day — an intriguing way to show the passage of time and the growth of their relationship.
As they kiss in the dark, a car nearly hits them, which Julie is sure is Jean. She tells him to take her anywhere, which ends up being his apartment. The car returns and its driver watches from the window as Julie and George make love (or, more to the point, she knees him in the crotch while laying upon him, but whatever works for them, I guess).
Later, Julie gets more flowers from an anonymous admirer. Her husband asks who they are from and she wishes aloud that they came from him. There's another note attached — "Your vice is a locked door and only I have the key." She tells him that she realizes that diplomats only love other diplomats. He replies that she feels that he has always failed and wronged her. He asks if she is content. "I'm more than content," comes her reply.
The black-gloved killer is watching her and calls her to blackmail her, saying that he will tell her husband. She goes to talk to Carol and claims that it's Jean. Carol responds that the killer's last victim was "that whore at the party" and Jean couldn't be the killer, as he doesn't go after women like that. Carol embraces free love and says that if Julie is into George, then why should she have to hide it? Also: Carol just walks around her apartment naked (and also has a crazy cover-up that is all black with red feathers) and Julie is just fine with it. Carol offers to go to where the blackmailer/killer wants her to drop off the money.
Julie nervously chainsmokes while watching a motorcycle race, a scene intercut with Carol going to meet the killer. To show the escalation of worry, Martino piles on the jump cuts and quick switches between the two women. Whereas Julie is trapped within her worry and the walls of her apartment, the carefree Carol is all alone within a huge park. Alone until the killer reveals himself, slashing her with a straight razor. Again — the killings are rather matter of fact in contrast to the set-ups in this film.
The police get involved, finally investigating Jean. They go to his apartment, which is covered with photos of naked women and exotic animals. Then, they interrogate him with her in attendance. It's just an excuse for him to keep trying to seduce her and inform the police that Julie has a blood fetish, so she could be the killer, too. George has also been brought in for questioning, to which Jean says, "Now I know why my flowers have no effect on you."
Neil arrives to take Julie home, but later George says that he wants to speak to her husband and take her away from the city. She says that she has to see this out, she has to discover who killed her best friend when it should have been her.
As Julie returns home, she finds herself in a dark parking garage. The headlines of a car cut into the inky blackness before she is nearly run over. She runs for the elevator, watching for the killer and the numbers of her floor to get closer. Yet the doors open to reveal the killer! Julie runs from him, even attempting to hit him with her car. She barely makes it inside the apartment, screaming at the door. Her husband lets her in but she's in hysterics. There's a lot of this scene that feels like it influenced Halloween 2's elevator scene. I'm not alone in feeling like that sequel is a giallo. Check out this awesome article from Bill at Groovy Doom to see what I mean.
Neil has had enough and decides to go to Jean's house and confront him. He tells Julie that he will go alone, but she is afraid and rushes to be with him. They explore his dark house, finally finding Jean's body in the tub. Julie is overcome and passes out in her husband's arms. When they get outside, Jean's car is gone and flowers have been left in the backseat with another poem. Neil throws the flowers down in disgust.
We cut to a dream sequence of George, a laughing Carol and Jean covered in blood, slapping her around. Her husband wakes her up and shows her the photo of the killer. She asks her husband to protect her, but he leaves. She calls and begs George to come and get her. He promises to take her to Spain, a place that will make her forget the rest of the world (people continually promise this to Julie, such as Carol's offer that a place will make her forget she's on a diet or that an affair will make her forget her sadness).
Neil comes back home to learn that Julie has left. Meanwhile, the killer tries to attack another woman, who unmasks, disarms and stabs him. He makes one last attempt to kill her, but passes out from blood loss.
Meanwhile (!), George and Julie are spearfishing. The camera work here slows down, turning around our lovers (You can't tell me that DePalma didn't watch at least a few giallo, even though he claims to have only seen The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and has been dismissive of Argento's work. Sure, all of his films and giallo betray the and of Hitchcock, but some of these films seem way too close). They discover that the killer has died, but George disappears and someone starts following Julie. She arrives back at their apartment to hear the sound of dripping water. We follow the sound to the bloody curtains of the tub as water and blood spill out. The camera begins to spin back and forth before she sees Jean's dead body, screams and passes out. George arrives and tries to wake her up, but she's catatonic. George finds the cause of Julie's worry — rust had been dripping onto the floor, looking like blood.
Julie awakens and her mood gives way to madness. She's sure someone is there and yet there is no one. As she realizes this, she attacks a wall and is chloroformed from behind by…Jean! George is rushing a doctor to see her, explaining her vice for blood that excites and repels her at the same time. But Jean is too busy dragging her to the kitchen, where he duct tapes the window shut. He opens a gas line and locks the door (using an ice cube?), leaving her to die. We hear her heart beating out as it's cut with shots of the doctor and George rushing to her. She makes an attempt to stand but cannot. And it's too late — Julie is dead.
Neil comes to see the police and blames George for what the police are classifying as a suicide. Jean waits in a secluded area for George, who greets him with a smile. He asks him for the money — turns out that they were in this together. Even after explaining that they both have an alibi, Jean asks again for the money. George shoots him and leaves a gun in his hand, making it look like a suicide.
Turns out that Neil and George were in on this too — Neil has paid off his debts and with Carol gone, George is the only heir to a fortune — much like Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train. As they drive away laughing, Neil sees Julie on the side of the road and demands that Neil turn around. To their surprise, it is her — followed by the police. A chase leads them off the side of the road to their death. The doctor has saved her life and it seems like he's fallen for her.
Wow. The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh was but the first of Martino's giallo films, but it's great. It kept me guessing until the end with none of the b roll travelogue footage and red herrings that plague so many other films in the genre. What a movie to spend the middle of the night into the morning with!
Cinematic Void January Giallo 2023: Four Flies On Grey Velvet (1971)
EDITOR'S NOTE: Cinematic Void will be playing this on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 7:30 PM at the Sie Film Center in Denver, CO (tickets here) with The Corruption of Chris Miller. For more information, visit Cinematic Void.
After The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and The Cat o'Nine Tails, Argento had one more movie left in his "Animal Trilogy." Luigi Cozzi (Starcrash) would both write and assistant direct the film and the results are…interesting. It's a lot funnier than his other giallo and was considered his swan song to the genre until his movie The Five Days failed at the box office.
Rock drummer Roberto Tobias is being stalked and as he finally catches up to his pursuer, the man pulls a knife. A struggle ensues and Roberto accidentally stabs the man while another masked figure laughs and takes photographs.
The next day, Roberto reads about the man's death — Carlo Marosi — and gets a letter with a photograph of him murdering the man. He begins having reoccurring dreams that he's being decapitated. Even worse, he wakes up to a masked man attacking him, who tells him that he won't kill him because he isn't finished with him.
Roberto's wife Nina (Mimsy Farmer, Body Count, Autopsy) returns home and he confesses the murder to her and tells her that he can't go to the police to stop the harassment. He does turn to his artistic friend "God" Godfrey (Bambino from They Call Me Trinity) and a con artist named the Professor (Oreste Lionello, The Case of the Bloody Iris and the Italian voice for Woody Allen) for help.
Whoever is behind Roberto's stalking and harassment is a troubled soul who had a horrific childhood and spent some time in an insane asylum. Roberto's maid Amelia knows who it is, but she pays for it with her life, as the killer uses a straight razor to slice her apart.
Later that night, Dalia (Francine Racette, Donald Sutherland's wife, so well done Donald) comes to stay with Nina and Roberto, despite him wanting her not to be there. It also turns out that our hero never really killed Carlo, who has been working with his blackmailer, who dispatches him with razor wire.
Roberto then hires Arrosio, a flamboyant investigator who has never solved a case, but hopes that this is the one that he will solve. Amelia's murder has been discovered and the cops are on the case, so Nina says that she's leaving town, feeling unsafe in her own house.
It turns out that Dalia has always loved Roberto, so they have sex. As you do. Look, it's a giallo. Other strange things are afoot, like Roberto's cat getting kidnapped and beheaded, Nina getting an inheritance, strange photos of Nina and Dalia's family and more nightmares.
That's when giallo science intrudes: the killer was in a mental institution called Villa Rapidi, where they were considered dangerous until their father died. This knowledge — and discovering the killer's identity and finally cracking a case — leads to Arrosio's death.
Dalia then notices that Roberto and someone in a photo with his wife look quite similar. Just as she puts it all together, she's stabbed and killed.
Ready for more giallo science? The police perform an optographical test that takes a photo of the retina to show the last image that Dalia saw before she died. Even Argento — a man who made a movie about a girl who can physically speak to insects and becomes friends with an orangutan — thought this idea was stupid until Carlo Rambaldi showed him how the special effect would look.
The last image that Dalia saw? Four flies on grey velvet. No one knows what this means.
Roberto waits for the killer to come for him but then Nina arrives. He tries to get her to leave because the killer is coming when he notices her necklace: a fly. As it swings, he sees it: four flies. In true giallo fashion, the killer is someone who we obviously didn't ever consider.
A fight breaks out and she repeatedly shoots her husband as she explains how she was placed in the asylum by her abusive stepfather — who raised her as a man — and was only cured when the man died. When she met Roberto, what she felt wasn't love, but the madness that her stepfather caused within her. She finally would get her revenge by using Roberto as the replacement for the man she couldn't get back at.
Nina runs away as Godfrey arrives to save Roberto, but she rams the back of a truck. She's decapitated as the car explodes.
Deep Purple almost did this movie (several members of the Beatles were considered for the role of Roberto), but their schedule didn't allow it to happen. Ennio Morricone, who worked with Argento on The Bird with the Crystal Plumage worked on the film, but had a huge argument with the director about the score. Goblin would come in and work with Argento for the first time here. Morricone and Argento finally reconciled and worked together on The Stendhal Syndrome.
This film wasn't commercially released for the home market until 2009, other than an incredibly hard-to-find French VHS version. That's because the rights to this film in America are owned by Paramount Pictures, which had chosen not to release it. Shameless did put out a UK release that is all region a few years back.
This is one strange giallo. The ending car crash took twelve cars to get right and combined with the music in the scene, it's really unsettling. This is also one of the first movies to use high speed cameras to shoot bullet time, years before Hong Kong movies and The Matrix. I love the killer's rant at the end of the film, particularly because big chunks of it are still in Italian! This might be hard for you to find, but it's worth tracking down.
Cinematic Void January Giallo 2023: A Lizard In a Woman's Skin (1971)
EDITOR'S NOTE: Cinematic Void will be playing this giallo classic Monday, January 2 at 7:00 PM at the Los Feliz 3 in Los Angeles. For more information, visit Cinematic Void or purchase tickets here. This is an opportunity to see a rare Italian-language 35mm Technicolor print with soft-subtitling from the collection of Harry Guerro.
If you were a well-to-do woman in Italy in the 1970s, chances are — based on the movies that I have seen — that you are about to killed, have killed someone, are having a lesbian affair, are on drugs or all of the above.
Carol (Florinda Bolkan, Don't Torture a Duckling) is one of those wealthy women. She lives with her father, rich lawyer and politician Edmund Brighton, husband Frank and step-daughter Joan (Edy Gall, Baba Yaga, The Devil is a Woman). Carol's been having dreams that cause her to see a doctor. It seems next door neighbor, Julia (Anita Strindberg, Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key, The Antichrist) is having all-night sex and drug orgies that at once repulse and excite Carol.
All sorts of rich people shenanigans are going on — Frank is having an affair with his secretary. And Carol may or may not be having a lesbian affair with her neighbor. Her dreams have become so intense, she can't tell fact from fiction. What worries her the most is that her latest dream ends with her stabbing Julia in vivid Fulci splendor while two hippies watch. That dream turns out to perhaps be true, as Julia is dead and Scotland Yard is on the case. The room and condition of the dead body match Carol's dream.
The hippies that she remembers from her dream don't remember seeing her kill Julia. But Carol's prints are on the murder weapon. As she waits for her trial in a sanitorium, one of the hippies breaks in and chases her. What follows is an infamous scene where she happens upon a room full of vivisected, still alive dogs. It's a dream sequence unconnected to the rest of the film, but it landed Fulci in prison. Carlo Rambaldi, the amazing special effects artist of E.T., Alien and more, saved the director from a two-year jail sentence by bringing the fake dog props to the courtroom.
Ready for some of those giallo red herrings? Turns out that Julia had discovered Frank's affair with his secretary and had been blackmailing him. Carol gets released, but upon meeting a hippy woman at Alexandra Palace, she's attacked, first by bats (this is Fulci, after all) and then by a hippy man who graphically stabs her before the police save her.
Then, stepdaughter Joan meets with the hippy woman witness but ends up with her throat cut. The hippie witnesses admit to stalking Carol and murdering the stepdaughter, but they know nothing of the night that Julia was killed, only recalling "a woman in a lizard's skin." At this point, everyone should scream and jump up and down, as the name of the movie has been said in the body of the film.
Another giallo moment — an action that happens off-screen with a main character. Brighton, Carol's father, has killed himself, leaving a note that he had killed Julia. At his gravesite, the police ask how Carol knew about Julia calling to blackmail the family when it had never been revealed. Turns out Carol and Julia were in bed together when that call was made, but Julia had also threatened to go public with their lesbian affair.
But what about the hippies? Turns out they were so high on LSD, they remembered nothing. Carol decided that if she combined her crazy dreams with images of the murder, she'd get off because of temporary insanity. So wait — her father didn't kill the girl? Did she kill her father? Why would she be having such crazy dreams about the neighbor if she'd already indulged in the affair?
If you're confused by a giallo, sometimes I think it's doing its job. And after all, this film is all about the visuals, as Fulci does a great job with the hippie sequences and throws some split screens in, pre-DePalma. It may drag in parts, but there are also bravura sequences to make up for that fact.
Night Gallery episode 5: Pamela's Voice/Lone Survivor/The Doll
Posted on December 30, 2022 by bandsaboutmovies
Originally appearing on January 13, 1971, the fifth episode of Night Gallery has at least two solid tales to deliver.
"Pamela's Voice" pits Jonathan (John Astin) against his wife Pamela (Phyllis Diller), ending with him killing her because he's sick of hearing her voice. Yet even death can't stop her from haranguing him in this story directed by Richard Benedict, who started as an actor and became a director, and written by Rod Serling. While most comedy episodes of this show don't work for me, there's a lot of talent here.
"Lone Survivor" is directed by Gene Levitt, the creator of Fantasy Island, and written by Serling. Th crew of the Lusitania find a man in a dress, lost at sea, claiming that he dressed as a woman to escape the sinking of the Titanic years ago. This would be impossible except, well, this show allows the fantastic to become true. That ghost of a man is played by John Colicos in a fine role.
"The Doll" starts with Serling intoning, "This little collector's item here dates back a few hundred years to the British-Indian Colonial period, proving only that sometimes the least likely objects can be filled with the most likely horror. Our painting is called "The Doll," and this one you'd best not play with."
This episode was directed by Rudi Dorn and written by Serling. Based on "The Doll and One Other" by Algernon Blackwood, this is all about a doll given to Col. Hymber Masters' (John Williams) niece (Jewel Branch) as he returns from India. I have no idea who would be good with such a frightening doll in their home, but yet she loves it, even when it causes chaos. Blame Pandit Chola (Henry Silva), who has sent it to get revenge for the death of his brother.
With this episode, Night Gallery affirms the promise that it had with the pilot. Guillermo del Toro has claimed that so many of his shots come directly from "The Doll" and that it remains an influence on him even today.