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A couple of coworkers tried to recruit me into their opera club the other day.
A bunch of the staff and volunteers at the office get together every time a new opera comes to town and have a potluck supper followed by a discussion about the particular feature they're about to head out to see. The idea is to revel in their specific cultural passion and to try to "enlighten" non-opera fans (and thus swell their ranks).
I declined the invitation.
While I have the highest respect for this form of music, it's just not something I enjoy much. Certainly I do enjoy the instrumentals of operas, but the singing doesn't do anything for me. I think it's an acquired taste – and one that's still fairly bitter to me.
The fact that the office types haven't given up in their attempts to convert me (this recent "invitation" was, in fact, their fourth attempt – and it should be noted this recent invitation was actually repeated about three times over the course of two days) has caused me to begin to view them (affectionately though) as a type of cultural Borg – attempting to assimilate all consciousnesses in the office into their collective in an attempt to achieve perfection in musical appreciation and potluck supper variety. They differ significantly in that they haven't arrived at the office in a huge cube or sphere – yet.
That's got me to thinking about instances where opera has popped up in sci-fi/fantasy/horror TV and movies. This is not to be confused with operas that have used speculative fiction as their inspiration (such as "Dracula" or "1984" – Wikipedia's got a whole list of them, and one that's by no means complete – hasn't "the Lord of the Rings" been turned into an opera?) – I'm talking about television shows or film in the genre(s) which have made effective use of opera as part of their soundtracks or the focal point of scenes. Even though I don't enjoy the singing component, I can appreciate how its use can enhance a scene.
Non-genre examples come to mind easily: "Philadelphia", "Glory" and "The Untouchables" to name but a few.
But speculative fiction TV/film examples are a little harder to find (references to opera in written sci-fi, fantasy & horror are legion).
It goes without saying that the various incarnations of "The Phantom of the Opera" feature this particular art form at some point.
There's the scene near the beginning of "Star Trek: First Contact" where opera rattles the portholes as Picard broods over his recent visions of the afore-mentioned Borg just before Riker enters.
"Deep Space Nine" in its final years featured regular references to, and examples of, opera – though the decidedly unpleasant Klingon variety. And I think it was mentioned on "Voyager" from time to time.
There were a couple of points in "Conan the Barbarian" where opera is employed quite powerfully.
We hear references to and see the ruins of (and full-blown hallucinations of an intact version of) the opera house in the capital city of Kobol on the new Battlestar Galactica (though opera itself is not used in the show's score to my recollection).
Don't the new brides belt out a bar or two at the end of "Young Frankenstein"?
Can we classify that weird singing/spherical swimming performance in "Star Wars – Episode III Revenge of the Sith" in the scene where Chancellor Palpatine dangles the possibility of discovering the secret of preventing death in front of Anakin Skywalker as a type of opera?
Was opera featured as background music in a scene or two of "Serenity" or "Children of Men"? I can't quite remember.
Beyond that, nothing much comes to mind in film or TV.
That being said, the disturbing thought has begun to take root that if I can appreciate – and even enjoy – the use of opera to enhance a scene in sci-fi/fantasy/horror TV and film, then perhaps, just perhaps, there is a tiny, deliberately unrecognized, part of me that does, in fact, enjoy it. (shudder) I won't be buying tickets to see the Tenors anytime soon, but maybe this means there's the possibility I might join the office opera club for supper one night sometime down the road.
Resistance is futile.
Posted by Robin Shantz at 1:31 AM 2 comments:
Science Fiction Slapshots
Finally coming to rest on the couch Monday night after hopping around the living room in the hometeam-just-got-a-big-win-in-the-playoffs-ecstacy, I got to thinking about science fiction stories.
Strange, I know. There's little apparent connection between the Vancouver Canucks' 4-1 victory over the Dallas Stars in game 7 of their first round Stanley Cup playoff series (my hats off to fans in Texas, though – as much as I want Trevor Lindon and what's affectionately been called in some quarters of the Lower Mainland "half of Finland's Olympic hockey team" to take the cup, the Stars played one hell of a series and in some games deserved to win a lot more than our inconsistent Canucks did) and speculative fiction. I admit, it's quite a leap. But for someone who's passion is first and foremost sci-fi, and the national pastime of the True North a distant third (after good food), that leap is natural.
Flushed with a hockey-high, I got to thinking about how many Canadian SF authors practice their stickhandling with The Game, and while it's not a theme you see in every story in every magazine or anthology, hockey does get mentioned once in a while.
The one that comes most readily to mind is Phil "The Mallet" Voyd's heartfelt, funny and intense "Jonny B" (from On Spec's Winter 2000 edition). It's a first-person yarn of a regular guy who excels at one thing: Shinny – pick-up games on local outdoor rinks, Armed with his Edmonton Oilers Gretzky jersey, our hero finds himself facing-off against more than just the neighbours out for a little winter fun or an ex-minor-leaguer or NHLer remembering his glory days. No, this time it's the devil himself, and it'll be a frosty day in hell before he lets a weekend warrior get the best of him, unless our hero can make him lose his cool.
Another story worth checking out, also concerning the fascination denizens of other planes might have with a sheet of ice, a stick and a puck, is Marissa K. Lingen's "Carter Hull Recovers the Puck" from On Spec's Spring 2006 edition.
I could probably rattle a few more off the roster, but it's getting late and tomorrow's Game 1 of the Canucks second round series against the Anaheim Ducks. Who knows, if you listen really hard, you might hear, over the roar of the crowd, over the crunch of players against the boards, over the slap of a stick against the puck, the sound of a writer out there putting pen to paper as the game gives rise to new legends.
Pizza Con?
Who'd have thought dinner at a pizza parlour on a Saturday night would be like attending a science fiction convention? I certainly never did – at least, I never thought it was something that could happen by chance. But it did this past weekend.
My wife had come out to meet me at an event in Burnaby early in the evening as I was packing up a display table I'd been manning for the non-profit agency I work for. We decided to amble over to Me-n-Ed's Pizza for a late dinner. The evening proceeded normally enough: we took a booth over by the windows, we shared a Caesar salad, my wife ordered her usual - a small roast garlic & smoked salmon pizza, I bellied up to a large gangster pizza (I know what you're thinking and you might as well stop now – I may be portly, but I sure can't finish a large pie by myself in one sitting – I'm not quite that much of a glutton – yet – I've gotta have leftovers for lunch the next day!) accompanied by a frosty bottle of rootbeer (ever since I was a kid, I've always felt a quality pizza needs a good rootbeer to truly get down into your soul and make you feel happy).
That's when it happened.
We were talking about which of this summer's roster of popcorn sci-fi and fantasy flicks we wanted to see when something a few tables over, I can't remember what, caught our attention. Just as we were chuckling over some of the latest internet gossip about the movie "Fanboys", something made us look over at a table of guys who looked, well, just like the characters from the "Fanboys" promo. And, true to appearances, they were talking about sci-fi movies and comics. The topic, if I remember correctly, was their collective opinion about what they perceived as an unwritten rule that "the main character can't die". Sure, it's an assertion that I'd probably disagree with (I can think of at least half a dozen sci-fi films off the top of my head where the protagonist does, in fact, shuffle off his/her mortal coil by the time the curtain falls), but it's the fact that our fellow geeks were chatting about SF movies, not four metres away from us, at the same time we were that was a bit of an odd coincidence.
Reaching for the hot chili flakes, we changed the conversation to books – a review of Cory Doctorow's "Overclocked".
Oh no, a one-off like that, in and of itself, would be a bit weird, but not entirely surprising. I can remember moseying down Broadway one night into Memphis Blues for some ribs, chatting about an episode of the new Battlestar Galactica, when, as we waited by the door for a seat, we overheard a nearby table of eight discussing the misadventures of Admiral Adama & co.
No, this night at the old pizza parlour was a threefer… About 15 minutes later, two big guys came in the front door - one of them a dead-ringer for Blues Traveler lead singer/harmonica player Jon Popper (minus the sideburns and the ammo bandolier loaded with harmonicas) – and grabbed a table about five metres away, pulling out a couple of Magic decks for a quiet game as they waited to order their dinner.
What was it that, without apparent rhyme or reason, attracted three groups of sci-fi fans to the same pizza parlour and caused us all to sit in the same section within a couple of tables of each other? It was like some weird version of Highlander, except with pizzas and fanboy talk instead of swords and Sean Connery and headhunting, where something inexplicable drew us to the same spot. It was like going to a con, where each table was a different room with a different discussion or activity. It was fun, in its weirdly unexpected way. Probably worth dining-in at the pizza parlour more often instead of just getting take-out.
Bradbury Garners Pulitzer Citation
The Pulitzer Board has awarded a special citation to Ray Bradbury.
The boys at SF Signal posted the news on today's SF Tidbits list.
For its part, the Pulitzer site says the recognition is:
"…for his distinguished, prolific and deeply influential career as an unmatched author of science fiction and fantasy."
At the time of this posting, there's been no comment yet from the venerable master on his official site.
Bradbury certainly deserves this honour. I've enthused about his imagination, his heart and his style many times before on this blog, so I won't go into it again except to say that Ray Bradbury is one of the greatest storytellers in the English language of our time and it's a treat to crack open each new book he offers.
This announcement couldn't have come at a better time for Bradbury either. Michael McCarty's interview with the author for Sci Fi Weekly's interviews page notes there are two new books coming out this year. Gauntlet Press is releasing "Match To Flame: The Fictional Paths to Fahrenheit 451" and "Somewhere a Band is Playing". Definitely looking forward to those.
So let's look back on this "deeply influential career"…
As I've said before, my favourite Bradbury novel is "The Halloween Tree". Best short story collection I think would have to be a three-way tie between "The Martian Chronicles" (pretty much a given), "From the Dust Returned" and "Quicker than the Eye". Favourite short story: probably the one from "Quicker than the Eye" about the time traveler who visits the giants of English language literature on their deathbeds to reassure them that their lives and works have meaning and lasting value. Unfortunately I can't recall the story's name off the top of my head and I just happen to have loaned the book to a friend. I guess the old word of advice about never loaning books is really true, 'cause now I don't have it when I need a quote/fact check!
And now it's your turn.
What's your favourite Ray Bradbury novel, collection or short story? Which chunky, delicious Bradburian turn of phrase captured the exactness of a moment or feeling or thing to you? Which one of his tales made you weep or laugh or shake in horror or sit back and wonder? Send me a note and share with the rest of us how this great magician of the language has left his mark on you.
Someone Should Have Yelled "Cut!" On "The Reaping"
Sometimes you go to see a movie as a favour to someone else because they want some company. And when it's a favour, it's very often because your gut's telling you ahead of time (based on previews and whatever buzz you've soaked up) that for whatever reason, this flick is gonna be a disappointment. To be sure, you can be surprised and enjoy your cinematic experience. But even if you're instincts are right and the movie is a stinker, there's no joy in telling the other person "I told ya so" because you've voluntarily wasted an hour-and-a-half to two hours of your life (and possibly some cash for the ticket and snacks) by going along. Last weekend was just such an occasion. My wife asked me to see the new Hillary Swank movie "The Reaping" with her, and sure enough, my gut was right: the best part of that show was the stale popcorn I sucked back waiting for the flick to end.
"The Reaping" is so unoriginal it's not even worth talking about all of its flaws in detail because you've already seen all of its elements at some point or other. Combine your favourite (or at least the first that comes to mind 'cause it's hard to find one good enough to call a "favourite") one of each of the following cliché suspense/horror movie categories: satanic cult, demon-child, pleasantly-bumpkinish-on-the-surface-but-in-fact-somewhat-creepy backwoods village, or world's about to come to an end in a wash of hellish or vengeful heavenly fire – you'll end up with "The Reaping". If there's a suspense/horror trope that's been overused to the point of near irrelevance, this film will flog it a little more.
(And now for the totally unapologetic spoilers:) This is a movie so clichéd they even killed the sidekick black guy! You would have thought that being an intelligent scientist/investigator, this fellow would have said: "Hmmm. I'm knee-deep in a river of blood outside a town beset by biblical curses, with a reportedly evil child skipping through the bog somewhere just behind the next bush on her way back to her mom's biker flop-house, the food's rotten and maggoty, the cows are psychotic, later on I'll be crawling around a ruined church and a mausoleum, and they're asking me, a black guy, to spend the night in a dilapidated old Southern plantation house – on the uncomfortable hide-a-bed couch in the den no less! Something bad may just happen on this trip, and I think it may just happen to me. If you'll excuse me, I'm taking the truck and going home. Best of luck, Hillary, and I'll see you next semester (hopefully)." But, of course, that doesn't happen.
Really though, I think the scariest thing about "The Reaping" isn't all the hoary old tricks they use to try to make you jump in your seat, it's the fact that the hereditary leader of the satanic cult that's brought the wrath of god down on that forgotten hunk of bog is the town school's science teacher. In an era where science seems to be held in suspicion by a frighteningly large number of Americans, I would worry that this turning away from rationality does not need to be reinforced by the movies – especially by one as bad as this. You might argue that the filmmakers did this on purpose to in some way satirize this apparent growing distrust of science, but I would caution that even if this is the case (and I'm not sure that it is) that too many people in the audience would have that distrust reinforced by the choice of the bad guy's occupation, rather than see it for the intended satire. Will this film cause Americans to run into the street demanding that men of science be burned at the stake or that Galileo be re-excommunicated? No. But sociologists and psychologists have long warned that pop culture does have an effect on people's perceptions, and this movie's depiction of the town's only scientifically educated person (someone who possesses what to the "simple" townsfolk must be arcane knowledge beyond their reach, and one who is a teacher and thus more powerful shaping the minds of the young) as someone with malicious intent, might at least subtly bolster the subconscious fears of some members of the audience.
Moreover, it isn't Swank's rationality or scientific knowledge that saves the day, it's a leap of faith and trust in the ability of the almighty to shoot straight and hit the right target. Certainly not an original ending, nor one that will help turn the tide of suspicion of science that seems to be growing.
Why can't science help the good guys win? I remember the climax of the 80's animated movie "The Flight of Dragons", where the hero counters the evil wizard's summoning of various fell monsters with a roll-call of the sciences. What about the "Ghostbusters", who used their "unlicensed nuclear accelerators" to blast a surly demi-god/100-foot-marshmallow-man back into "the nearest convenient parallel dimension"? What about "The X-Files"? Even though Mulder often followed his hunches and held a great store of faith in the existence of various critters of the unknown, it was always his cooperation with Scully, the doctor (read scientist), and their use of rationality and science that allowed them to uncover the truth, survive and, on occasion, triumph.
"The Reaping" could have shown some smarts and learned a lesson from "The X-Files" and maybe turned into a success. Instead, it put its faith in Hollywood horror clichés and failed utterly. If you really want to waste your time on this movie, be smart about it and wait until they show it on TV – at least then you won't waste your money.
"The Host" With The Most
Right from the beginning, when the buzz first started to come out of the film festival circuit and filter through the internet, there was something about the Korean horror movie "The Host" that intrigued me. In an era of flicks with armies of zombies, honked-off ghosts, demon-seed kids, and worse, the endless series of deplorable "Saw"-like productions obsessed with sadism for its own sake, here was a good old-fashioned mega monster movie.
How long has it been since a new version of the I-can't-believe-you-didn't-see-it-comin-it's-so-friggen-huge, citizen-stompin', military-mashin', one-monster tornado movie? The last new one I can recall Peter Jackson's "King Kong" remake in 2005. Bfore that, probably the '98 "Godzilla" remake starring Matthew Broderick but where Jean Reno stole the show complaining about the lack of croissants. If there's been anything since then, I can't remember it. Help me out here, folks, have there been any other building-bashin'-sized monster movies lately?
It's as though movie industries around the world decided that this genre of film just wasn't cool any more – that audiences wouldn't appreciate it 'cause it wasn't scary and the potential to be lame was too high. It's as though "King Kong" was a one-off allowed in deference to Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" clout more than an appreciation of cinematic history. It's as though the genre almost died.
And then along came director Joon-ho Bong with "The Host".
Just like those famous beasts that stomped across the silver screens of yesteryear, the mega monster genre has risen again (if only for now) with this Korean gem.
The film centres on a Seoul family that's pretty much like gum stuck to the bottom of society's shoe: The grandfather at the head of the clan is a former carouser now eking an existence out of his snack shack in the park with his stupid and sleepy oldest son. His daughter ought to be a gold-medal archer but lacks the confidence to fully realize her potential. The younger son is an unemployed university graduate. The sole redeeming member of the family is number-one son's 12-year-old daughter, Hyun-seo, who alternates between the roles of parent and child. The family is thrown into turmoil when a gigantic creature leaps out of the near-by Han River and begins its rampage, mashing some victims underfoot and swallowing others. One of those who winds-up in the belly of the beast is young Hyun-seo. The catch is that this critter seems to have a fairly slow digestive process, and if a person isn't killed in the initial gulp, there's a chance they may still be alive when the monster decides it's eaten too much and regurgitates some of the bodies later. The girl, vomited up with a couple of corpses in a pit in a sewer, does what any smart 21st century kid does and scavenges a cell phone to call for help. But while her family members attempt to pull themselves together for a rescue, they're hampered by government officials who refuse to believe the girl is alive, and who claim that anyone who's been near the creature is now infected with a mysterious illness that makes SARS look like a summer cold.
"The Host" has it all: "gotcha" moments of thrills that make you jump in your seat, brooding atmospheres, well-rounded and realistic characters that you can believe in and cheer and worry about, social and political commentary (and while plenty of this is overt, some is couched in image and metaphor and requires some thought – something that helps give this creature feature a bite), a nod to monster movies of the past (there's a clear connection of tradition between the original "Gojira"/"Godzilla", awakened by nuclear testing and sent on a path of destruction through Japan, and the pollution-spawned creature of 'The Host" which savages Seoul's riverfront – it's merely an update of the zeitgeist fears – what horrors will man's irresponsible tinkering unleash), and best of all, it's absolutely hilarious. And that's not because the movie mocks itself. Far from it, the plot stays in character the whole time. The humour comes from the humanity… from the bickering, the bitterness, the misunderstandings and the natural stupidity of people, even those in tense situations.
A lot of the gags come from the main characters, but it's a treat to see what's happening with the supporting cast. I certainly wouldn't want to spoil any of the laughs, but some of the funniest moments involve what's happening in the background. In fact, it's this layering of activity that shows just how smart this movie is. You've gotta have a huge amount of respect for a director who deliberately gives scene-stealers (whether they're laughs or moments of terror or sadness) to the tertiary actors and extras, and who, by extension, gives the audience quick insights into a larger world involving more than the protagonists who we're with for the ride. This is a crucial part of the success of this movie.
So let "The Host" invite you into its world for a while. It's certainly worth the full price of admission.
The Shape Of A Few Good Yarns - "Tesseracts Ten"
It doesn't take much arm-twisting to get me to take a break from novels for a little while and dive into a short story collection or two. They're a great way to get a quick fix of favourite authors, to sample up-and-comers and to detect the occasional poseur who's made it through so you can avoid him/her if they somehow pull off a novel. And best of all, you get to see writers rising to a different set of challenges to their craft than novels pose: how to cobble together an intriguing plot, how to develop multi-dimensional characters we actually care about (flying in the face of the nonsense regularly spouted by high school English teachers that short stories are all about plot with lean to non-existent characterization), and how to pull this off in the confines of an editor's word limit. It's the mark of a successful anthology when most of the stories within it can pull this off. "Tesseracts Ten", edited by Robert Charles Wilson and Edo van Belkom and published by EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy, rises to this challenge.
Veteran authors Wilson and van Belkom have assembled a group of 19 new Canadian writers offering various shadows of unsettling futures cast by the uncertainties of today. Wilson says it best in the opening segment of his introduction to the collection: "The going gets tough, and the thoughtful get nervous."
The anthology gets off to a strong start with Scott Mackay's "Threshold of Perception", a cometary armageddon tale of faith amid ruin. And it's the human focus to the story that makes it so great… where others might be tempted to go the disaster movie route and centre simply on the damage caused by the comet, Mackay makes his tale one of human beings challenging each other and themselves to look at reality in new ways. He skillfully paints us a picture of people dealing with these challenges in shades of Asimov's famous "Nightfall" (both the short story and the collaborative novel with Robert Silverberg). I'll also admit I really liked this as a kick-off story because I'm a sucker for a well-written alternate history.
The poem "Frankenstein's Monster's Wife's Therapist", second in the lineup, packs a solid punch that sent me reeling. Here's an example of how effective and sharp a really short contribution can be to an anthology like this. This kind of selection is like an onomatopoeia in a comic book – if it doesn't get your attention, then you weren't really paying attention to begin with.
I also liked "Buttons" by Victoria Fisher (did Dickens' Sydney Carton have a collection like this after his appointment with the guillotine in "A Tale of Two Cities"?), Mark Dachuk's "Permission", and Rhea Rose' creepy take on how Spiderman could have turned out (if Peter Parker was a farm wife) in "Summer Silk".
But every anthology has its weak links. In the ho-hum category were Allen Moore's "Donovan's Brain" and Jason Christie's "Ideo Radio Poem". And Scott Mackay, while scoring with a great opener, falls a bit short the second time around with "The Girl From Ipanema", which should have ended sooner.
On the balance though, Robert Charles Wilson and Edo van Belkom's "Tesseracts Ten" (really the 11th in the family – though I try to forget about "Tesseracts Q" with its tedious separatist sentiments) is an enjoyable and intelligent collection. It's a worthy addition to the line begun 22 years ago under the careful hand of the late Judith Merril and mentored through its successive incarnations by powerhouses like Phyllis Gotlieb, Robert J. Sawyer and Nalo Hopkinson. For all the dark omens threatening to seep out of the pages of this book, van Belkom is correct when he points out at the close of his afterword essay that the remarkable variety of these tales shows a bright future for Canadian speculative fiction (and I would add, especially the tradition of writing fine short stories) with new authors such as these to nurture it. "…that child is coming of age and entering adulthood with its best and most fruitful years lying ahead with only the sky serving as the limit to their creativity and ambition."
An Empty Monkey House
Just got the word from Sci Fi Wire and SF Signal that author Kurt Vonnegut has died.
First impressions count for a lot, and that's certainly been my experience with Vonnegut. The first tale of his that I ever read, and the one that sticks out the most in my mind for some reason, was his short story on an egalitarian nightmare "Harrison Bergeron", from the collection "Welcome to the Monkey House" (originally published in "The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction" in October 1961). The story revolves around the life of the title character, a physical and intellectual superman in shackles to keep him at humanity's common denominator (which in this story happens to be the lowest leveling of the playing field) and his eventual slipping of his bonds, obtaining his perfect mate and rising above the rabble. More than the caution of the perils of insuring that all people are equal, I think the theme in this story that stuck out most in my mind was that humanity's own worst enemy can easily be itself, and in unexpected ways. In order to prevent individuals from dominating their peers or their country, the society depicted opts for stagnation. In trying to keep balance and prevent a fall in one direction, the pendulum has swung too far the other way.
Some of Vonnegut's other well-known works include "Slaughterhouse-Five" and "Cat's Cradle".
Sci Fi Wire quotes the New York Times as reporting Vonnegut had suffered brain injuries as a result of a fall a few weeks ago. Kurt Vonnegut died in New York on April 10th at the age of 84.
Speculative Fiction At Work
You know it's been a good day at the office when you've been able to have in-depth, intelligent discussions with coworkers about speculative fiction. Today was just such a day for me.
The lunchroom conversation ranged from literature to film, stuff with pop culture status as well as selections quite a bit more obscure. We browsed on Tolkien, David J. Lake's short story "The Truth About Weena" (which I first encountered in the Australian SF anthology "Dreaming Down Under") and its different take on the tale of H.G. Wells' Time Traveler, "The Matrix", Bradbury and "V for Vendetta", to name just a few.
And what made the chat great was that it wasn't just a tete-a-tete between myself and the other SF nut on staff – everyone had something to say. Some wanted to hear more about authors or films they hadn't encountered before, and I picked up a few titles that I'm eager to look into. A very refreshing change from other workplaces where the cattle merely graze in silence, or where legitimate points made using speculative fiction examples are met with snobbery from literati poseurs. It's been said many times before that you can learn a lot about your peers from what they read and what they watch, and I must say I learned quite a bit today.
A good day at the office, indeed. Somebody cue Bachman's "Takin' Care of Business"!
Choosing Among Favourites
Here's a note I added to SF Signal's discussion about a recent poll in SFX (a UK science fiction magazine) on the best science fiction film ever. The top three on the poll were Star Wars, Serenity, and Blade Runner, respectively. 2001 came in down in 8th place. It's hard having to choose from among your favourites – especially when the list provided is by no means complete!
"In some ways, I think Star Wars vs Serenity is one of those apples vs oranges questions: they're very much different kinds of movies and shouldn't necessarily be on the same set of scales. The appeal of Star Wars (when it first came out) was very visceral - it dragged you onto the rollcoaster for an unapologetic popcorn romp and any subsequant metaphorical/intellectual dimensions are just that - afterthought. Serenity, on the other hand, despite the action and humour, is right from the get-go more of an intellectual picture. The characters are full-flushed (especially with the series' background) and the issues raised demand some thought. In any case, I think Star Wars and Serenity are really duking it out for third place. If we're talking about the best SF flicks ever, 2001 and Blade Runner have first and second place, respectively, in my books."
Working The Bugs Out Of "Eifelheim"
First of all, I'd like to apologize, folks, for the long gap since my last posting. I try to find something to babble about at least once a week, but things have been hectic for the past little while. My grandmother had a massive stroke two weeks ago and my wife and I, out here on the Wet Coast, had to grab a flight back to my hometown of Cambridge, Ontario to visit her in the hospital and to say goodbye. She's still holding on and fighting to improve (the family doesn't affectionately call her The Velvet Sledgehammer for nothing) and is fully aware, but the stroke has left her partially paralyzed and at 93 years old, you just never know. If I hadn't gone back, I probably would've regretted it. Add to that a heavy workload at the office when I returned, and I haven't had any time lately to indulge in the pleasure of logging on and spouting off.
But I'm back now, so let's get to it.
A while ago I finished Michael Flynn's "Eifelheim". I know, I know, some of you are probably pointing out that this book's been out for a few months, but I've got a ton of new books to plough through, and when there's fresh servings of Dan Simmons and Minister Faust to be had, other stuff from author's I haven't read yet gets pushed to the side of the plate.
At any rate, when I did finally get around to it, "Eifelheim" wasn't bad. Not great, mind you, but not bad.
Flynn's story alternates between the events in a Medieval Black Forest village when an alien ship is wrecked nearby shortly before the onset of the plague, and the lives of an academic couple: he trying to unearth the history of the German hamlet, she wrestling with quantum mechanics. While intertwining the plot lines, the book also deals with how we form impressions of people based on limited information (whether it's the personalities and motivations of individuals who lived in a town in another part of the world hundreds of years ago or the relationship a modern historian has with his research assistant), tolerance for that which is alien (be it an extraterrestrial, someone from a neighbouring village, a new and contradictory philosophy, or a different religion), and the way in which people face crisis and possible death.
Flynn does an excellent job of bringing to life the various characters in his village of Oberhochwald/Eifelheim. Normally, when one thinks of the peasantry of Europe in the Middle Ages, faceless, dirty, rude, dumb, drudgery comes to mind – probably because the education system spends more time on the exploits of nobles, conquerors, inventors and explorers or philosophers within or against the Catholic Church. And yet by flushing out the personalities of his various secondary characters, Flynn points out to those of us in modern times (who fancy ourselves as somehow unique and memorable when future generations will likely pass us over as we do the serfs and freeholders of 800 years ago) that these villages were populated with people who were as complex (or simple) as we: some that were intelligent (if uneducated), some who were narrow-minded, some who questioned the order of things, some committed to duty, the scoundrels, the dedicated workers, the healthy and the sick – all of whom had unique reactions to whatever life had to throw at them: from the joys of festivals to the horror of pestilence. What's more, the author tries to make as many of the characters as multi-faceted as possible in order to make them believable. A prime example is Pastor Dietrich's ward Theresia, who has a sweet personality and loves to hear stories and practice herb lore until the arrival of the alien Krenk, when her religious narrow-mindedness makes her quite hostile to them and the priest himself, but not to the other villagers who see things the way she does.
As for the insectoid Krenk themselves, Flynn falls a little short in trying to flush them out to the same degree as his human characters. To be fair, our experience of the Krenk is through the eyes of Dietrich (and thus limited by his Medieval mind's education and perception of the universe), and is centred on the Krenk's attempts to survive on Earth and interact with and understand their human neighbours. And yet I was left feeling that the author could have done more to give us a better sense of Krenk culture and what it is they miss about their home (except for vital nutrients to keep them alive or perhaps rarely-mentioned loved ones).
And while the present day plot lines were necessary to reflect some of the issues raised by the Medieval story, I thought this part of the story needed some more work. Sharon's explorations of quantum mechanics added a hard SF flavour to the story, but one that was ultimately unnecessary (don't get me wrong, I love a well-done hard SF yarn a-la Clarke or Sawyer – there was just no need for it in this book). I'd be tempted to call this hard SF afterthought a kind of mathsterbation. The novel would have lost nothing without it.
Also, the relationship issues raised between Sharon and Tom (and to some extent Judy) throughout the book are suddenly dropped at the end, leaving their portion of the story feeling somewhat flat and unsatisfying. It's as though Flynn was suddenly rushed to finish his book and thought "Oh, if I deal with the spousal issues and love triangle possibility that I got into in the previous 290-odd pages, this book will get too long – I'd better just slam the door on it and concentrate on the Krenk stuff – then I can cap this sucker at 313 pages!" Or like the author suddenly got worried about having spousal relationship tale cooties infecting his alternate history tale and worried that if he didn't drop that end of the story then it might supplant the alien focus of the book. Then again, maybe that was the editor's call. I don't know. But it seems fairly obvious that if you're going to get into character subplots that detailed, even if you don't tie-up their loose ends at the close of the book (because a pat ending would be equally unsatisfying), an author should make some effort to show that these concerns are still in some way weighing on his characters minds – that they've had some impact on the characters. Instead, Sharon seems to disappear once she's had her scientific revelation while Tom happily goes cavorting around the Black Forest with the other woman giving us no sign as to whether this is going to be trouble.
That being said, don't let the weaknesses of the modern plotline prevent you from enjoying "Eifelheim". Overall, it's certainly worth the read.


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Glamorgan to focus on staging white-ball cricket... but England Tests could still return to Cardiff
Cardiff-based county feel one-day cricket is the best way to grow the sport in Wales
Dominic BoothCardiff City correspondent
The SWALEC will host only one-day games (Image: Getty Images)
Glamorgan have told England they just want to focus on staging white ball cricket at the SSE SWALEC Stadium for the next six years.
The move comes amid reports in the Times that the Welsh county were set to receive more than £1million from the ECB in return for giving up their status as a Test venue.
Glamorgan have not commented on reports of the ECB compensation, but WalesOnline understands the county indicated they merely wanted to concentrate on hosting white-ball cricket between 2020 and 2024.
England star Joe Root will be in plenty of one-day action in the Welsh capital
One-day cricket presents a more attractive option to Glamorgan right at the moment and so formed the focus of their bid for the next batch of England internationals. The Cardiff-based county views white ball cricket as the best way to grow the game in Wales.
The move from Glamorgan as the county mirrors what has happened with two of England's leading players. Swashbuckling batsman Alex Hales and leg-spinner Adil Rashid have each said they only wish to focus on playing the one-day game.
England's exciting ODI team has won many plaudits since being overhauled in 2015 and it appears Glamorgan want to harness that buzz by attracting big crowds for white-ball games in the Welsh capital.
Cardiff to field city-based franchise in brand new T20 competition, with Glamorgan set to host further 'white ball' internationals until 2024
Test matches could yet return to Cardiff after 2024, although the only internationals to take place at the SSE SWALEC until then will be ODIs and T20s.
The ground has been allocated eight white-ball England games between 2020 and 2024, with England's more traditional Test venues sharing the five-day matches.
Alex Hales and Dawid Malan in T20 action in Cardiff last year
Prior to that, the stadium will host an England versus Australia 50-over game on June 16 this year, while India are the visitors for a T20 international in the Welsh capital on July 6. World Cup fixtures are also inked in for next summer.
Cardiff has also been selected as one of eight venues for the ECB's new city-based T20 competition, which starts in 2020.
Glamorgan last staged a Test in 2015, the Ashes opener between England and Australia. That was played out in front of sell-out crowds for the four days.
The SSE SWALEC had previously hosted a 2011 Test between England and Sri Lanka and the 2009 first Test against Australia.
Follow @WalesOnline
Glamorgan CCC
SWALEC Stadium

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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49 killed in New Zealand Mosque Terror Massacre. TRANSCRIPT: 03/15/2019, The Rachel Maddow Show.
Guests: Julian Castro, Adam Serwer, Mehdi Hasan, Norm Ornstein, Cornell Belcher, Aisha Moodie-Mills, Marcy Wheeler, Elie Mystal, Carol Lamb
March 16, 2019, 1:00 AM UTC
Show: ALL IN with CHRIS HAYESDate: March 15, 2019Guest: Julian Castro, Adam Serwer, Mehdi Hasan, Norm Ornstein, Cornell Belcher, Aisha Moodie-Mills, Marcy Wheeler, Elie Mystal, Carol Lamb Show: THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOWDate: March 15, 2019Guest: Brigitte Amiri, Gavin Newsom
MADDOW: Thank you very much, my friend. Appreciate it, Joy. And thanks to you all at home for joining us this hour. Happy Friday. This has been a very, very newsy week and it is a very newsy Friday. This is going to be a big show. We`ve got a lot to get to tonight, including somebody who is here for the interview you are very much going to want to see here with me on set later on this hour. Of course, the dominant news story in our country and around the world is what happened in New Zealand, where New Zealand is still reeling, and I think much of the world is still reeling today after yesterday`s shootings at two mosques in the city of Christchurch. As of tonight, the death toll from the shootings stands at 49 people killed. Over 40 people were injured, including a dozen people who were described this evening by Christchurch hospital as, quote, critically ill. Initially, there had been four people in custody in conjunction with these killings. One of those in custody is believed to be the gunman. He`s already showed up in court in New Zealand today. Interestingly, New Zealand authorities announced that his court proceedings today and presumably his future court proceedings as well will be closed. They will not be open to the public. Nobody will be allowed to observe them. They`re describing that as a security decision. That may also have implications in terms of how much this guy wants to continue to try to be a propagandist for his terroristic ideas that led him to do this as he`s done in his online writings as well. Of the other people who were arrested besides him, police had said originally that it was two men and one woman who were arrested in addition to the guy who is believed to be the gunman. Police initially said they were picked up because at least some, if not all of them, had firearms near the scene of the crime. Authorities are now no longer characterizing those three people in any way, except to say that one of those people has since been released from police custody after it became clear that that person was actually trying to help police in stopping the event and he was not part of committing it. But these other two people who were arrested besides the guy who is believed to be the gunman, those other two people as of right now remain in custody. Now we know nothing about them and we know nothing about their potential complicity in this act. We also really don`t have a clear timeline as yet. The vast majority of those killed, 41 people were killed at the Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch, but seven other people were also killed at a different mosque, at the Linwood Mosque, which is about three miles away. One other person later died at the hospital. We do know from the way that law enforcement has described that happened, the man in custody, the gunman, the man who is in court today, he drove to the Al Noor mosque first and killed those 41 people there, and then we know from the way police have described what happened that after the killings at the Al Noor Mosque, he got back into his vehicle and drove away. It is possible when he drove away, he drove to the other mosque three miles away and committed the other killings there. But I should tell you, that has not been explicitly laid out that way by police. They haven`t given us that level of detail. So that sort of hole in the timeline thus far, that in combination with the fact that other people are still in custody without police saying what their potential involvement in this might have been just means that some of the basics here remain unsaid and we still have a lot to learn about what happened. But as of tonight, a lot of people are still being treated for injuries. As I said, Christchurch hospital just said that as many as a dozen people are viewed as critically ill, which means, you know, the death toll may yet rise above the almost unbelievably high number of 49 people already known to have died. So, we will have more ahead on this still unfolding story tonight. This in part is going to be the subject of the interview that we`re going to do here on set tonight. But before we get to that, we`re actually going to start tonight with an exclusive, with a bit of a scoop. At the beginning of the Trump administration, there were a lot of somewhat strange personnel choices made by the incoming president. I mean, even in the cabinet.
Rick Perry for energy secretary, right? Rick Perry had not only proposed abolishing the Energy Department, he also appeared to believe that the Energy Department was the oil and gas part of the government and not the part that deals with, like, nuclear weapons. He didn`t even appear to understand that once he had been named the secretary of energy. So that was a weird choice.
Also remember the party planner for Eric Trump`s wedding was put in charge of housing in the northeastern United States. That was a weird choice.
Also, the president`s personal bankruptcy lawyer, his bankruptcy lawyer was named ambassador to Israel for the United States.
Also, the president really did make an effort to try to make his personal pilot the head of the FAA.
So there were some weird choices right off the bat.
One less high profile but equally weird choice came when President Trump picked a man named Scott Lloyd to be the director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. That was a weird choice, too, because Scott Lloyd had never worked with refugees ever. He had never worked with resettling anyone, so the idea that he would be in charge of resettling refugees was odd.
What Scott Lloyd had done in his life is he had been a conservative activist lawyer from a Catholic group called the Knights of Columbus. He basically was an activist anti-abortion guy.
His body of public writings included stuff like this, quote: Facts about abortion, why you can`t be pro-life and pro-contraception. This was all about how birth control is the same thing as abortion and women shouldn`t be allowed access to either in this country. All abortions should be illegal for American women and birth control should be illegal for American women, too.
So that was his public profile before he got put in charge of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. If you want to know what happens when you put somebody with that pedigree and that experience in charge of randomly refugee resettlement in this country, well, now we`ve done that as a country. So, now, we know how that works out.
Here is a headline from the "L.A. Times," December 2017, Trump official sought to block abortion for 17-year-old rape victim. Scott Lloyd is the Trump official in question. Part of this scandal was him writing a memo outlining his reasoning for blocking a teenage rape victim from accessing abortion.
Quote: I`m convinced that assisting with an abortion in this case is not in her best interest. I am mindful that abortion is offered by some as a solution to a rape. I disagree. And then he tried to block her from getting an abortion, using his status as a federal official in charge of this Refugee Resettlement Agency in order to do it.
The 17-year-old in that case, the 17-year-old girl who had been raped, she was one of many kids who arrived in the U.S. applying for refugee status. She was sent alone to a shelter operated by the Trump administration. At some point along the way, she found out that she was pregnant as a result of that rape.
In America, it does not matter whether you are an immigrant or not. It doesn`t matter your age. It doesn`t matter where you`re from. In America, you have a constitutionally protected right to get an abortion if you want one. The government is not allowed to stop you from getting one if you want one. That is a decision that you are allowed to make for yourself. It is protected by the Constitution.
But when Scott Lloyd took over the Office of Refugee Resettlement, he became the guy who was in charge of all of those kids. And he decided he would make it his first priority in that job to block any girl who came into the clutches of that agency he was running, he would block any girl under his purview at that agency from getting an abortion.
The only reason that 17-year-old rape victim from that 2017 case, the only reason she eventually was allowed to get an abortion, and the only reason we know about her plight is because she found her way to lawyers at the ACLU who took her case, who sued the government on her behalf and won. She was the first Jane Doe in the case. She decided she wanted an abortion.
It`s interesting, in her case, she had raised the funds needed to pay for it herself. She had gotten a judge in Texas to explicitly grant her permission to get the abortion, despite the fact that she had no way of getting parental consent for it. She had arranged for travel at her own expense to and from her doctors appointments necessary for her to get the abortion.
But still, Scott Lloyd`s agency, the federal government agency he was running wouldn`t let her leave the shelter to go to the doctor. That is what ultimately became a class action lawsuit led by that pregnant teenage girl who has literally being forced to continue this pregnancy against her will by the U.S. government until the ACLU intervened to take her case and won it.
Brigitte Amiri is the ACLU attorney who sued on her behalf and we talked to her about it at the time.
BRIGITTE AMIRI, ACLU ATTORNEY: They were literally holding her hostage, blocking the door, preventing her from obtaining an abortion. And I do believe that that was their goal, to hold her hostage until she carried this pregnancy to term against her will.
MADDOW: Brigitte Amiri talking about her client who had the name in court of Jane Doe.
As that case made its way through the courts, the ACLU kept turning up more Janes, more girls who were being held in shelters overseen by this guy, Scott Lloyd, who were being blocked from getting an abortion.
And it soon became very clear why. This was not just some fluke thing where somebody, like, wasn`t properly trained or something. This was an official policy of this agency under this Trump administration official, Scott Lloyd.
Brigitte Amiri, the ACLU attorney, she got to depose Scott Lloyd as part of that ACLU lawsuit. Here`s how part of that went.
AMIRI: You`re personally opposed to abortion, correct?
SCOTT LLOYD, OFFICE OF REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT DIRECTOR: Yes.
AMIRI: You`ve written on the subject?
LLOYD: Yes.
AMIRI: You`re personally opposed to contraception, correct?
LLOYD: Depends.
AMIRI: You wrote an article that said in order to be pro-life, you need to be anti-contraception?
LLOYD: That was the title of the article. Something along those lines.
MADDOW: Yes, something along those lines. Something like the title of the article "Why you can`t be pro-life and pro-contraception." Something along those lines. So those are his views.
Brigitte Amiri from the ACLU goes on to ask him about how it is when he`s running this agency that essentially controls the fate and controls the physical movement of all of these girls who are in this country because they`re asking for asylum, how it is that all of these girls in that agency that he`s running keep getting blocked from accessing abortions. And watch what she gets him to admit.
AMIRI: Have you ever approved an abortion request in your time as ORR director?
LLOYD: No.
AMIRI: Are there any circumstances under which you would approve an abortion request?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Objection. Calls for speculation.
LLOYD: I`m not going to answer that.
AMIRI: You can still answer it even though --
LLOYD: I don`t know.
AMIRI: You`ve denied abortion requests, correct?
AMIRI: You`ve denied abortion requests even in the context where the pregnancy is a result of rape, right?
MADDOW: So the way the system was working under the Trump administration is that Scott Lloyd was in charge of this agency. When a teenage girl who was a rape victim made her way to the United States seeking help in this country, she has to get permission from Scott Lloyd personally to get an abortion, because he`s weighing in on all of these cases, blocking these girls from getting it.
And so, Scott Lloyd has appointed himself the gatekeeper about whether or not the girls are allowed to access the thing they`re supposed to have a constitutional right to get. He`s appointed himself a gatekeeper and it turns out he`s never granted that permission any time someone has come to that gate. And he doesn`t know under what circumstances he ever would grant that permission. So, this was starting to look like a de facto U.S. government Trump administration policy.
That deposition with Scott Lloyd was released in February of last year as the lawsuit was still ongoing. Then in April, "The New York Times" reported something that began to shed a little bit of light on how that policy was carried out. "The New York Times" reported that Scott Lloyd, quote, has instructed his staff to give him a spreadsheet each week that tells him about any unaccompanied minors who have asked for an abortion and how far along they are in their pregnancy.
In at least one case, he directed staff to read to one girl a discrimination of what happens during an abortion. And when there is a need for counseling, Mr. Lloyd`s office calls on someone from its list of preferred life affirming pregnancy resource centers. So, he was keeping a spreadsheet with details that amount to a record of pregnant teens` menstrual cycles and he was using that information individualized to these individualized girls, teenagers, and some of them younger, to block them from accessing abortions that they wanted to get.
After "The New York Times" reported that that spreadsheet existed somewhere inside the federal government, a progressive super PAC called American Bridge filed a Freedom of Information Act request asking the government to hand over that spreadsheet, since that`s apparently federal government property and federal government employees are doing that, tracking these individual girls` menstrual cycles and how far along they are in their pregnancies as federal employees, as people who are working at a federal agency for the purpose of controlling what happens to those girls` pregnancies.
Well, this week, much to the surprise of the people at American Bridge, as far as we can tell, the Trump administration did hand that spreadsheet over, and tonight we have obtained it. And it`s -- it is a -- it is a remarkable thing to look at.
Here it is. It is 28 pages long. Let me just show you what we`re looking at here, as best as we can tell. When the government released this document because of the Freedom of Information Act request, they sent it as a PDF document. So they didn`t send it as a spreadsheet you could look at as a spreadsheet. That just means the titles of the columns are collapsed in some cases, but we think we know what each of these things means.
The first column, we believe, is the date where the pregnancy was reported. Second column we think is how the pregnancy was reported. How government officials found out about it.
The next column contains an alien identification number, which is a unique identifying number for each of these kids who has come over to ask for asylum. The government has redacted those here because that would identify these specific girls in this document. But Scott Lloyd had access to that unique identifying information for each girl. Next is each girl`s age on this document, the girls` ages range from 12 to 17.
Next is the name of the shelter where each girl is being held. Then we think this next column is the day each girl was admitted to the shelter. We`ve partially redacted this column ourselves because it seems like this kind of information could be used in some bank shot if somebody was trying to identify some of these women at some of these shelters, so we`ve redacted some of that ourselves.
And then you have in this U.S. government document the results of their pregnancy tests. They all say positive, positive, positive. Then you have the U.S. government`s calculation of the estimated gestation age, how far along these pregnancies are, tracking them for each of these girls.
Then, the next line is whether the pregnancy is believed to be the result of consensual sex or not. U.S. government keeping track of that for each of these girls on this federal government employee-provided spreadsheet. Then whether or not it was reported as a sexual assault, all those column lines, either reported, not reported, reported, not reported.
Then the second to lamb column is TOP requested. TOP in this context we think means termination of pregnancy. So the question of whether or not this girl has asked for an abortion.
They`re keeping track of that with each of these girls, including their age, how far along they are in their pregnancy, the gestational age of the fetus as believed by the federal government, the circumstances under which the girl may have become impregnated, whether or not it was reported as a sexual assault. And is she asking for an abortion? The federal government is tracking all of this for each individual girls, down to age 12.
And then, finally, the last column is reserved to notes on each case. You can zoom in on that notes case. In one case they`re talking specifically about the timeline of the girl`s last menstrual cycle as being tracked by the Trump administration, except they spell menstrual wrong.
This is literally the federal government tracking a 15-year-old`s period because of what the federal government plans to do about it.
Let`s look at one entry and detail here. This is sort of one at random. Just so you can see the kind of data they were collecting.
This is a case from March of last year, March of 2018. It`s a 14-year-old girl being held in a shelter in Illinois. She`s believed to be about one month pregnant from nonconsensual sex, 14-year-old girl. As you can see in the notes column, it says assaulted by unknown assailant in COO, which we believes country of origin here.
So this is the federal government with your tax dollars keeping an individualized record of pregnant teenage girls` menstrual cycles, whether they`ve had a positive pregnancy test, what the government knows about how they believe the girls got pregnant, how they believe this individual girl got pregnant and whether this girl has requested an abortion and then the last column, the last column supports what the federal government is doing about it. And this record was being kept for the express purpose of subverting any of these girls` ability to get an abortion. This was essentially a spreadsheet designed to facilitate federal government action to block these girls from getting any abortion they might want, can`t imagine why any of them would want that given the circumstances described in the cold, hard spreadsheet cells.
When you look through this 28-page document, I mean, it`s full of teenagers, in some cases girls who aren`t yet teenagers who report being raped and being pregnant as a result. And here is Scott Lloyd, Trump administration appointee, compiling this information about these girls and using it so he can intervene as a government official to block each after these girls individually from being able to get the abortion they have asked for. All the while he was tracking in an ongoing way how far along each girl in her pregnancy was. How long he could delay it until it was illegal, right? How much he had to keep blocking her from leaving the shelter that he controlled until she`d be legally forced to give birth thanks to the U.S. federal government.
So this document has never been seen before. This is not the sort of thing we`re used to seeing. This is not the sort of thing we expect our government to be keeping tabs on in the modern era.
But there is one other element of this that I think is, for me, part of this that made me want to sort of close the door and yell at this story a little bit. The part, to me, that is actually the most shocking part of it, because, remember, the ACLU had sued to stop Scott Lloyd from blocking these girls` access to abortion, right? They did very well in that suit.
On March 30th of last year, they won a major victory in that case. Not only had the original Jane Doe been allowed finally to get the abortion that she had been seeking, on March 30th, a federal judge granted class action status to that case and ordered Scott Lloyd and anybody else in charge at the Trump administration`s Office of Refugee Resettlement that they need to by court order stop interfering with or obstructing any class member`s access to a judicial bypass, to a medical appointment related to pregnancy dating, nonbiased counseling, abortion counseling or any pregnancy-related care.
So, as of March 30th last year, the courts have stepped in and stopped this. The court March 30th tells Scott Lloyd, this Trump administration appointee, that as a federal official, he needs to stop interfering with these girls` decisions about whether or not they`re going to get an abortion. March 30th was that order from the court.
So, we called up Brigitte Amiri today when we obtained access to this document, this ACLU lawyer who had fought this case. And one of the things she told us is that among the things that was most shocking about this document, which she had never previously seen, was that the dates on the spreadsheet show that Scott Lloyd kept tracking all the girls` pregnancies and their menstrual cycles for months after that court ruling. That court ruling ordering him to stop interfering with access to abortion.
I mean, all of these dates on the first page are from June of last year. He was supposed to stop this stuff in March. He just kept doing it.
And we don`t know if Scott Lloyd continued to physically block girls from access to abortion services the way he was before the court ruling after he was ordered not to by a federal judge, but we do know thanks to this document uncovered this week, which we are making public for the first time, we do know he kept on tracking them regardless of what the court told him.
Why would he want to keep a detailed record of individual girls` menstrual cycles and the pregnancy status of girls and the means by which they became pregnant and the desires whether or not they wanted to have an abortion? Why would he want to keep all of that detailed information, up to date, week by week for all of these girls if he had pledged that he wasn`t going to do anything else to block them from getting what they wanted?
I mean, we don`t know. We put in a request to HHS to speak with Mr. Lloyd or get a response from the department tonight. An HHS spokesperson told us, quote, we can`t comment because of ongoing litigation on the matter.
But the fact that this spreadsheet is being produced on your dime, this is what the federal government does now with individual girls in this circumstance -- well, that`s where we are.
Joining us now is Brigitte Amiri. She`s deputy director of the ACLU`s Reproductive Freedom Project. She`s the lawyer fighting this case in court.
Brigitte, thank you for being here. I appreciate you helping us validate this document today and understand what we`re looking at.
AMIRI: Thanks for having me.
MADDOW: I`m right you had not seen this document before we obtained it today.
AMIRI: I had not.
MADDOW: There had been reporting that the Trump administration was tracking girls at this level of detail in this one agency. Seeing the document, to me, first of all, has a visceral effect. But it`s also -- it struck me when I read that earlier reporting, I had no idea it was going to be this detailed.
Did you know that this was the level of information the government was tracking?
AMIRI: I had a sense it was. I asked Scott Lloyd at his deposition in February about what kind of reports he was getting, because at that point, we knew through emails that we had obtained that he was getting weekly reports. So, I had a sense it was at least this level of detail.
But you`re right, seeing it together and all of these young women and their specific requests for abortion was really quite surprising.
MADDOW: As you told us today when we called you to get your take on this and before we asked you to come on the air tonight, you said that it seems shocking or it at least surprising that this level of tracking information about all of these individual girls continued, even after the court order in your case, which blocked Lloyd from intervening, blocked the Trump administration from intervening to stop these girls from getting abortions.
Is there any reason that you know of or that HHS might have put forward in your litigation that would explain why they`d need to track this information about these girls, up to and including the date of their last menstrual period if they weren`t going to use it to try and continue blocking them from getting abortions?
AMIRI: There is no legitimate government reason to track this information at all. We don`t know that there has been any attempt to block any of these young women, but it`s curious and I would say creepy that Scott Lloyd was continuing to get this level of information about these young women and their pregnancies, even after we got the court order, and I think you`re right, for what purpose? We are not aware of any obstruction attempts, but it is concerning and kind of bizarre.
MADDOW: Mmm-hmm. Yes, I mean, seeing this -- seeing -- the other thing, to me, that I think was visceral. You first look at it, it takes awhile to figure out what you`re looking at. Then you realize the level of personal information that they`re getting here and then you realize you`re looking at 28 pages of it.
AMIRI: Right.
MADDOW: Part of it is also the volume that there was this many girls that they were tracking at this level of detail. Did you know that it was this many girls who they sort of had their eyes on in this way?
AMIRI: I didn`t know it was this level of girls they had information on. We knew there were hundreds of young women who were pregnant in custody. A number of them, some subset of them were seeking access to abortion, but I did not know there was this level of detail for this many women.
MADDOW: Brigitte, as I mention, the HHS spokesperson late tonight contacted us, returned our call when we had asked for comment and they just said they can`t comment because of ongoing litigation. What is the status of the litigation here?
AMIRI: So our injunction is still in place and the government appealed it. We`re waiting for a decision from the court of appeals, but in the meantime, the government is prohibited from obstructing or interfering with access to abortion for all unaccompanied pregnant minors in their custody. And if anyone has any issues, any concerns, any witness to any problems, they should give the ACLU a call.
MADDOW: Do you anticipate on privacy grounds or on any other ground -- I don`t think you can sue for creepiness, maybe Margaret Atwood can sue for copyright infringement. But do you anticipate there will be further legal action simply on the basis of the fact that the federal government has been tracking this level of personal information on uniquely identified girls at such -- to such an extent and for so long. Might this be a cause for additional action on its own?
AMIRI: It`s a good question. I just saw the document a little bit ago.
Certainly I`ll be talking to my team and we`ll discuss it further.
MADDOW: All right. Bridget Amiri, deputy director of the ACLU`s Reproductive Freedom Project, again, thank you for helping us today, even before you knew you could come on tonight. And thanks for being here.
AMIRI: Yes, thank you.
MADDOW: All right. Yes, as I mentioned, that is an exclusive here you won`t have heard that story anywhere else.
That document was not obtained by my staff. It was obtained by this super PAC American Bridge. We are being transparent about that sourcing. They provided it to us so that we could make it public.
But, again, we expect because it was handed over by HHS as a result of a FOIA request that this is now fair game for further reporting by any other news organization.
All right. Much more to get to tonight. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MADDOW: Today at the White House, the president expressed condolences for the people who were killed and injured in the horrific terror attack in New Zealand, where at least 49 people worshipping at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, were shot dead by a man who appears at this point to be a white supremacist anti-immigrant gunman who apparently proclaimed his intentions and his motives in a rambling online manifesto where he ranted about how immigrants were a terrible invasion and how someone needed to stop these invaders, and how he was going to be the one to do it.
So, President Trump expressed condolences for that attack today. When he chose his setting for expressing those condolences, he chose to make those remarks at the White House photo-op where he was set to make a big show of vetoing the bill just passed by Congress that would stop him from using an emergency declaration as a way to try to build a wall between the United States and Mexico. So, he is using the veto photo-op to talk about New Zealand.
The way this goes in order is that he starts off by expressing his upset over the New Zealand massacre carried out by the anti-immigrant zealot who wrote his manifesto about stopping his invasion. Then the president immediately went on to his next thought which was saying about his border wall, quote, it is definitely a national emergency. Rarely have we had such a national emergency.
Quote: It is a tremendous national emergency. It is a tremendous crisis. We are on track for a million illegal aliens to rush our borders.
Quote: People hate the word invasion, but that is what it is. It`s an invasion, these immigrants. It`s an emergency. We have to stop them, the president says today, moments after expressing his condolences for what happened in New Zealand less than 24 hours ago.
Right now, the largest state in the country, the largest state in our country is pretty much openly confronting the president on his position on the border and on immigration. California Governor Gavin Newsom has already announced the withdrawal of some California National Guard troops from the southern border. He said that troop withdrawal was intended to, quote, refocus on the real threats facing the state.
Governor Newsom redeployed a third of those troops to prepare for the upcoming fire season in California. I should tell you, California is also one of the 16 states suing the president over his emergency declaration to try to build his wall.
Joining us now for the interview here in studio is California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Governor, thanks very much for being here.
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D), CALIFORNIA: It`s great to be here. Thank you, Rachel.
MADDOW: So when I asked you to come in and be on the show tonight, I didn`t exactly know what was going on in the news.
NEWSOM: Yes, tough.
MADDOW: I have to ask you in the wake of what we believe has happened in New Zealand. I mean, we know about the extent of the violence and the terrorist attack that was committed. We are learning more about what the gunman may have intended.
What`s your reaction?
NEWSOM: Well, it`s interesting. I mean, the way you just set this up, invaders. It`s just an interesting fact last week when we opened an asylum center for people that are coming through the border legally, coming through the border, San Ysidro border, the busiest border in the western hemisphere, legally surrounded during my announcement were all these Trump supporters with signs saying invaders.
MADDOW: Wow.
NEWSOM: That language is real. It`s out there. It`s part of the body politic. It is intentional.
And to hear him say that tonight in light of what happened in New Zealand is an outrage and people should be, I think, more -- well, more intense about that than pretty much anything else that they heard today.
MADDOW: Let me ask you about -- I have interviewed you a few times. You`ve had different jobs in public service, as mayor of San Francisco and as lieutenant governor in California. Now as governor of California, and California is such an important state in terms of size of its population, the size of its economy, its influence in the country and around the world.
NEWSOM: Yes.
MADDOW: You obviously have a totally different take on the issue of immigration.
MADDOW: And asylum and the border than the president.
MADDOW: But there is a question about governing differently when it comes to those issues that is different than how you win the argument, how you win the fight with somebody who is using those issues for the kinds of ways the president -- this president is using it. Do you see those as two different things? Is it the same challenge?
NEWSOM: No. I think they`re very distinctive challenges. I love what you just said.
Look, let me sort of set this up. California is the most diverse state in the world`s most diverse democracy. We are a majority minority state. We`re a universal state that practices pluralism, meaning we are actively engaged in diversity. Meaning we are celebrating not just tolerating our diversity.
We`re a universal state also in this respect, we brought in 112,000 refugees just in the last 15 years. Where the federal government walks away, we step up and step in. As I said, we were dumping people out on the streets and sidewalks, 60 to 180 families every single night legally coming through our border were being dumped off in the bus stations, dumped off on the streets and sidewalks.
The federal government doing nothing for them. The state of California put 25 million up to create a first of its kind migrant shelter. And we did it because of our human capacity to empathize and also because we`re a welcoming people and we believe in the American dream and we believe it should be afforded to anyone who seeks it legally.
The Trump administration does not feel the same. They are making this a national emergency -- legal migrants seeking asylum. Last year, here are the facts, last year, we had the fifth lowest illegal border crossings since 1973 in 46 years, the fifth lowest in 46 years.
The crisis is nothing more than legal asylum seekers coming through the border, a crisis that is not just manufactured in the context of the larger issue, but is substantively manufactured with intentionality by the Trump administration that is metering those crossings, doing nothing to help support these people and actually creating the conditions that they`re condemning.
This is a farce. It`s political theater. And the fact is California is not going to play part of that.
Now, how do I make that an argument that can attach itself --
MADDOW: Leading by example in a different way is one thing. Confronting them, defeating them in argument, winning the battle, winning the war of ideas around this stuff is --
NEWSOM: Harder.
MADDOW: Something in addition to that.
NEWSOM: That`s it. Look, so that`s the separate question. It`s a more challenging question. You can intellectualize it. You can -- facts.
But then you`ve got a guy who uses emotion. And he knows the vulnerabilities of his base and he exploits them every single day. And the politics is, you know, it`s pretty -- it`s not particularly novel. It`s about fear, anger, fear, anger. It`s a golden oldie.
MADDOW: Mmm-hmm.
NEWSOM: And it`s an old saw and he plays it very, very well.
We`ve got to push back with facts, but we also have to push back with positive alternatives and I`d like to think our state`s that.
MADDOW: Governor, I have a bunch of other stuff to ask you about, will you stay there?
NEWSOM: Let`s do it.
MADDOW: California Governor Gavin Newsom is our guest.
Stay with us.
MADDOW: Back with us in studio for the interview tonight is Governor Gavin Newsom, Democrat of California.
Governor, thanks for staying with us.
You made national news within the last few days by making an executive decision in your authority as government to basically stop the implementation of the death penalty in your state.
MADDOW: You have made executive decisions in other leadership roles in the past. You made a very controversial decision around gay marriage within your powers as mayor in San Francisco.
MADDOW: In this one, though, I`m struck by the fact that California voters have been asked if they want to get rid of the death penalty and they`ve said no, as recently as 2016. You nevertheless decided that this was the right thing to do, not just for yourself, but for your state.
NEWSOM: Yes, Prop 22 in California said marriage is between a man and a woman as well.
MADDOW: And that passed in 2008. Yes.
So there is right and wrong and there are the whims of the majority. With respect, you know, we`ve had 164 people in this country since 1973 that have been exonerated from death row, five in California. One since the voters approved a measure to fast-track the death penalty.
We have the largest death penalty, interestingly, again, in the Western hemisphere, not just in the United States, 737 people.
MADDOW: California has 700 -- more than 700 people --
NEWSOM: Seven hundred and thirty-seven human beings on death row, the largest in the United States; 120 have died on death row.
MADDOW: Without being executed.
NEWSOM: Without being executed -- suicides or natural causes, including someone just a week or so ago.
What`s remarkable, we spend $5 billion. We`ve executed 13 people, spent $5 billion. And yet we`re still in a debate, for good reason, because we know that we`re putting people death that are innocent. We don`t think that. We know that.
We estimate by conservative estimates 4 percent of people on death row today or innocent. Do the math on the 737 in California. That means I`m being tasked to literally exercise my authority to execute someone every single day for two years knowing that it`s likely 30 of them are innocent.
And with respect, that`s not an intellectual exercise, that`s an exercise the governor has the power to execute or reprieve. I chose reprieve.
I choose not to do this for another reason. The racial skew is overwhelming, 2/3 on death row are people of color, 1/3 have severe mental illness. Many of them are there for crimes that are more modest, as horrendous as they are, than folks that are out on parole in California, based upon as a judge said, lightning.
It strikes some defendants, the death penalty, and others it does not. But it strikes those people of color and those that commit crimes against whites more than others, and those without wealth are more likely to end up on death row. I cannot support that system.
MADDOW: I was surprised this year when you went out early with an endorsement in the Democratic presidential primary.
I tell you I was surprised for a couple of reasons. One is because I think a lot of people looking at this race and the way it`s going to shape up think that you`re a potential vice presidential choice even if you choose not to run yourself. And so, somebody who is in that -- I know you`re not hot for it. Nobody ever says they do.
But as somebody who wasn`t talking to you about it and was thinking about you in the abstract.
NEWSOM: Sweet.
MADDOW: I thought you`re somebody somebody might consider. And given that active possibility, I wouldn`t expect you to endorse. Two, California is going to be very, very important in terms of picking a nominee.
MADDOW: It`s going to put the spotlight on you and on Democrats in your state in a way that is going to burn hot in the national perspective. And so, for you, early on to come out and say that you support Senator Harris was a not expected bold choice.
Why did you choose to do that?
NEWSOM: Because I think she`s the right person at the right time. And I`ve had an up-close opportunity to get to know her over the course of decades. I saw her firsthand as district attorney in San Francisco.
I saw her stand up weeks after we both were elected on principle against the death penalty and against the overwhelming majority of people that wanted an individual executed. And she said I cannot in good conscience do that. That was a profile in courage early on.
I saw her as attorney general when I was lieutenant governor first hand doing work on mortgage settlements, on issues of implicit bias, on the issue of overt bias, on issues of independent police investigations. I saw the work she did when she got into the Senate and aggressively engaging in some of the national debate.
I think she`s impressive. I think she can take on not only those that are in the primary but she is the right person to take on one-on-one Donald Trump. I have great confidence in her and I could not be more enthusiastic and supportive.
MADDOW: Are you going to campaign for her around the country?
NEWSOM: I am. Yes, I think I`m doing it right here.
MADDOW: You did.
MADDOW: Governor Gavin Newsom of California, it`s nice to see you.
NEWSOM: Great to be with you.
MADDOW: All right. More ahead tonight. Stay with us.
MADDOW: When the president`s campaign chairman Paul Manafort was sentenced to federal prison for the second time this week, that led to a lot of expectations that maybe everything related to the special counsel`s office was wrapping up now, too. I will say I hope that by now everybody`s learned to be at least a little bit humble about predicting what`s going on with the special counsel`s office, since you`ve all been wrong, we`ve all been wrong, right?
But when Manafort`s federal criminal cases came to a close this week, it at least, even if you were being humble, it at least seemed safe to guess that, OK, at least we now know the Rick Gates case will come to an end now, too, right? I mean, these were linked. Gates was the deputy campaign chair when Manafort was the campaign chair. Gates was initially charged alongside Manafort in the first indictments that were handed down by Mueller.
After initially pleading not guilty alongside Manafort, Gates was the one who first took the plunge, changed his mind, pled guilty, became a cooperating witness. That included a couple of awkward weeks with him serving as the star witness against Paul Manafort in Manafort`s trial in the Eastern District of Virginia.
Now over the long duration of Manafort`s trials, Gates` sentencing has been delayed again and again and again. And that made sense. He was being used as a cooperator and a prosecution witness against Manafort in the Manafort trial, as long as the Manafort case was still alive, it made sense that prosecutors might want to keep their claws in Rick Gates. Keep him from cooperating. Stop him from going through with this sentencing and moving on with the rest of his life.
When the Manafort case finally came to a close in federal court with the sentencing on Wednesday, it seemed like, OK, Gates will now finally wrap up, too. Gates` case scheduled for a status update in federal court today. And I think it`s fair to say it was widely assumed that everybody thought today that we`d learn that Gates was finally coming to the end of the line. They`d finally be ready to move forward with sentencing him, too.
Nope. Nope. Nope. Wrong again. Prosecutors today asked for another delay in Rick Gates` sentencing. They asked for four separate delays in Gates` sentencing over the course of the Manafort trials.
Now that the Manafort trials are over, today they just asked for an extension in Gates` sentencing for a fifth time. Mr. Gates, quote, continues to cooperate with respect to several ongoing investigations, says the special counsel`s office.
And so at least another 60 days, at least until mid-May now before Gates` case will be back in court after yet another extension. Gates is still an actively cooperating witness in several ongoing investigations. No, we still don`t know what those investigations are, but, again, trying to stay humble here, given everybody`s record on predicting stuff in these cases.
We might surmise it has something to do with gates was number two in the Trump inaugural. Trump inaugural didn`t appear to be under law enforcement scrutiny at the outset of the case against Manafort and gates, but it`s clearly under scrutiny now. Trump inaugural was a subject of subpoena from the Southern District of New York recently. It`s also been subpoenaed by the New Jersey attorney general and by the D.C. attorney general.
It`s also the subject of extensive document requests from the Judiciary Committee in Congress and Rick Gates was the number two guy -- number two guy in the Trump inaugural committee. So it`s possible that that`s some of what he is still cooperating on and why they can`t move forward with his sentencing.
But given how good everybody`s been at predicting things from here on out and guessing how things are going with Mueller, it`s also possible it has something to do with the moon and green cheese, and don`t hold me to it. We`ll see when we see.
MADDOW: It is not uncommon for kids to cut class, especially on Fridays, but it is uncommon for them to do it on this kind of a scale. Today, kids and teenagers in over 100 countries and 1,700 cities skipped out of school to demand that adults finally do something about climate change.
This was in London. "I bet the dinosaurs thought they had time, too."
This was Lisbon, Portugal. "You are killing your mother."
In Berlin, Germany, "Our house is on fire."
Children marched in Bogota, in Seoul and Dublin with signs that said "There is no planet B," as in no plan B, no planet B. In Italy, kids painted their hands to say "Our future is in your hands."
In Cape Town, South Africa, school kids chanted outside the parliament, "We need change, we need change, we need change."
There were crowds in New Zealand. Yes, even today in New Zealand.
In Prague, Ukraine, Uganda, also here at home in Washington, D.C. This was Paris. "You are never too small to make a difference."
More ahead tonight. Stay with us.
MADDOW: The bad news is deadline approacheth.
The good news is they still do have the weekend. Eighty-one different people and the entities got document requests from the Judiciary Committee a couple of weeks ago. They are all, all 81 of them, facing the same deadline this Monday for getting those records up to Capitol Hill.
Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler is asking these 81 people and entities for information about a gazillion different scandals and issues, everything from the president`s hush money payments to the Trump Tower meeting with the Russians, to details about the inaugural committee. It`s a ton of stuff.
Some people who are targeted with these document requests have apparently said they`re not going to comply. But Nadler`s office tells us they actually think they`re getting a good response so far. They say they`ve also been working with people who might need a little bit more time, if not potentially a friendly subpoena.
But, again, deadline for all of them is on Monday. We shall see as of Monday what they get.
Have a good weekend. That does it for us now. We will see you again Monday night.
Now it`s time for "THE LAST WORD" with Ali Velshi, sitting in for Lawrence tonight.
Good evening, Ali.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. END


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text:
Kickstarter Vamplets
Kickstarter: Vamplets Mini Figures
slovak34 March 2, 2016
Vamplets creator Gayle Middleton has unveiled her latest collection of collectible art toy Mini Figures in a Kickstarter campaign launching today - Wednesday March 2nd. The new mini monsters feature a terrifyingly cute collection of Baby Vampires, Infant Werewolves, Baby Undead Dragons, and mysterious translucent Ghost Ponies.
Vamplets President Jay Kamhi said, "Over the past 5 years we've focused mostly on designer plush dolls and graphic novels. But we've had so many requests from our fans for mini figures that we decided to launch a Kickstarter campaign to fund the creation of 7 of our most popular characters."
Fans can take advantage of an "Early Bird" Kickstarter Exclusive if they wish to purchase the entire seven piece set (at the $78.00 funding level) on the first day of the campaign. If you're looking to pick up some of the minifigures, they're available beginning at the $30.00 funding level. This project will only be funded if at least $45,900 is pledged by Wednesday, April 6th 2016 at 8:21 PM EST .
Remember...this is not a pre-order. There are many instances of crowd funded projects that have been funded never making good on their promised goods. So back with caution.
The Walking Dead Mystery Minis Series 4
Hot Toys' Guardians of the Galaxy – Drax


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text:
Q: Two lists in a single variable This is part of my parsed xml file
- <a:p>
    - <a:r>
          <a:rPr lang="en-US" sz="3600" dirty="0" />
          <a:t>36%</a:t>
     </a:r>
  </a:p>
- <a:p>
    - <a:r>
          <a:rPr lang="en-US" sz="3600" dirty="0" smtClean="0" />
          <a:t />
      </a:r>
      <a:endParaRPr lang="en-US" sz="3600" dirty="0" />
  </a:p>
  </p:txBody>
  </p:sp>

I have to extarct the text from a:t tags and the code snippet is beolw!!
path1 = file.xpath('/p:sld/p:cSld/p:spTree/p:sp/p:txBody/a:p', namespaces=NAMESPACES)
for a in path1:
    b = a.xpath('./a:r/a:rPr[@sz="3600" and @dirty="0"]',namespaces=NAMESPACES)
    for c in b:
        d = c.getparent().getparent()
        e = d.xpath('./a:r/a:t/text()', namespaces=NAMESPACES)
        print e

I have a variable which consists of two lists as an output.. for example
print e
results in
['38%']
[' ']

Now, I would like  to remove the second list i.e [' '] and print only ['38%']
any suggestion how i could do that? I never came across such situation before since i started learning lists

A: You have a variable that contains a single list, with a single string in it.
This is obvious now that you've told us how you get the value:
e = d.xpath('./a:r/a:t/text()', namespaces=NAMESPACES)

lxml's xpath method returns a list of things, which, when repr'd, represent as strings. So, ['38%'] and [' '] are both things you could see when printing the result.
The problem is clearly that you're searching for e twice, and printing it twice (or doing a similar search and print elsewhere).
From your edit:
path1 = file.xpath('/p:sld/p:cSld/p:spTree/p:sp/p:txBody/a:p', namespaces=NAMESPACES)
for a in path1:
    b = a.xpath('./a:r/a:rPr[@sz="3600" and @dirty="0"]',namespaces=NAMESPACES)
    for c in b:
        d = c.getparent().getparent()
        e = d.xpath('./a:r/a:t/text()', namespaces=NAMESPACES)
        print e

You have the e = … and print e inside a loop. Either your a search returns two elements (each of which has a b search that returns 1 element), or your b search does.
If you want only the first result of anything, you can just stop looping once you get to the print. For example, if this is inside a function:
path1 = file.xpath('/p:sld/p:cSld/p:spTree/p:sp/p:txBody/a:p', namespaces=NAMESPACES)
for a in path1:
    b = a.xpath('./a:r/a:rPr[@sz="3600" and @dirty="0"]',namespaces=NAMESPACES)
    for c in b:
        d = c.getparent().getparent()
        e = d.xpath('./a:r/a:t/text()', namespaces=NAMESPACES)
        print e
        return

However, if you want to actually understand what's going on, you should try printing out the values at multiple steps:
path1 = file.xpath('/p:sld/p:cSld/p:spTree/p:sp/p:txBody/a:p', namespaces=NAMESPACES)
print path1
for a in path1:
    b = a.xpath('./a:r/a:rPr[@sz="3600" and @dirty="0"]',namespaces=NAMESPACES)
    print ' ', b
    for c in b:
        d = c.getparent().getparent()
        e = d.xpath('./a:r/a:t/text()', namespaces=NAMESPACES)
        print e

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Haggen appoints new leadership team after CEO resigns
by Evan Marczynski • December 11, 2012 4:05 pm
Haggen CEO C.J. Gabriel Jr. has resigned his position with the Bellingham-based grocery chain, a senior executive with the company has confirmed.
Clement Stevens, Haggen's senior vice president of merchandising, said the company's board of directors accepted Gabriel's resignation on Friday, Dec. 7.
Rather than search for a replacement, Stevens said the company is appointing a three-member leadership team made up of himself; John Turley, Haggen's chief operating officer; and Ron Stevens, who serves as both chief financial officer and chief information officer for the company. (Clement Stevens and Ron Stevens are not related.)
The new leadership will be officially known as the "Office of the President," Stevens said.
Haggen's employees and customers will likely not notice any changes, Stevens said.
He added that the new team is committed to continuing Haggen's major rebranding effort underway in a number of its markets.
Most Haggen locations in Bellingham have been remodeled in the past year under the new company store theme, called "Northwest Fresh."
The company's Sehome Village store in Bellingham will host a rebranding event on Wednesday, Dec. 12.
C.J. Gabriel Jr., known to friends and colleagues by his nickname, "Gabe," was a key player in the chain's rebranding.
Stevens noted Gabriel's contributions to the company during his time in the leadership role.
"The company is assembling a new management team," Stevens said. "But obviously, Gabe will be missed."
Gabriel had been the CEO at Haggen since 2011, taking over shortly after The Comvest Group, a Florida-based investment firm, bought a majority share in the grocery chain.
There is no indication of what led to Gabriel stepping down.
The now-former chief executive declined to comment on his resignation when reached by phone.
But he did praise the people he had worked with while at Haggen.
"I want to wish all the Haggen and TOP people nothing but the best," Gabriel said.
His departure is the third top-level change at the company in the last three years.
Before Gabriel's start at Haggen in 2011, Jim Donald, a former Starbucks executive, took over the role of president and CEO in 2009 from Dale Henley, who had been in the position since 1996.
Prior to Haggen, Gabriel spent time as a senior executive with several major food and beverage companies, including Albertsons and PepsiCo Inc.
In a July 2012 interview with the Bellingham Business Journal, Gabriel said one of his main goals at Haggen was to combine the company's two brands—Haggen Food & Pharmacy and TOP Food & Drug—under one banner.
The "Northwest Fresh" facelift will place all of the chain's TOP stores under the Haggen name within the next several years. The rebranding effort also comes with a new focus on products with natural, locally produced ingredients.
Haggen, which was founded in Bellingham in 1933, is one of the largest private companies in Washington state.
Contact Evan Marczynski at evan@bbjtoday.com or call 360-647-8805.
Tags: grocery, Haggen, resignations