text:
Humberto Leon and Carol Lim's Dual Dynasty
Christopher Bagley
Kenzo's Humberto Leon and Carol Lim, with the company's founder, Kenzo Takada (center), in Paris.
Leon wears his own Kenzo sweatshirt and trousers; his own socks and shoes. Takada wears his own clothing and accessories. Lim wears her own Kenzo dress; Kenzo shoes; her own necklace, bracelet, and rings.
Photographer: Walter Pfeiffer
Styled: Felicia Garcia-Rivera
When it comes to high-profile designer appointments, the Paris fashion crowd is used to surprises. From the news in 1997 that former grunge-meister Marc Jacobs would take the helm at the luxury luggage label Louis Vuitton to Ungaro's selection of Lindsay Lohan as its artistic adviser five years ago, there have been plenty of unexpected pairings, with wildly divergent outcomes. But the announcement in 2011 that the multiculti pioneering brand Kenzo would be given to Humberto Leon and Carol Lim—best friends, business partners, and self-described mall kids from California, better known as retailers than as designers—seemed like one of the unlikeliest matches of all.
True, Leon and Lim were the founders of the hit concept store Opening Ceremony, that international magnet for of-the-moment artists, musicians, and hipsters. Granted, they had also created their own successful in-house collection and dreamed up innovative collaborations with everyone from Martin Margiela to the Muppets. And, yes, they had plenty of digital savvy and a youthful, global outlook—all qualities that undoubtedly appealed to their new bosses at LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Kenzo's parent company. But Leon and Lim had no formal design training and had never staged a runway show; they'd be presiding over a major Paris atelier founded by Kenzo Takada, the beloved Japanese maverick who had boldly crashed the fashion party in 1970, then quickly became the life of it.
During their first weeks in Paris, Leon, 39, and Lim, 40, were in for a few surprises of their own. For starters, they learned that Kenzo's average female customer was much more mature than they'd realized—65 years old, to be exact. When they decided to include a cotton sweatshirt in their first collection, the item dumbfounded some of the higher-ups at LVMH and the artisans in the work studio. "We don't have a sweatshirt category," Leon says they were told. With expectations high and brand awareness low (Kenzo clothing was not even sold in the U.S., where the label was known mainly for its fragrances), the pair "inherited something that was very heavy, in every way possible," Leon recalls.
Three years later, their load has lightened considerably. On the business side, annual revenue has repeatedly surpassed targets. (That dubious sweatshirt—embroidered with the head of a roaring tiger—is now one of the brand's staples.) The typical Kenzo client these days is not a senior citizen but her adventurous daughter or granddaughter—the kind of girl who might pair a lime green jacket with a shiny jacquard jumpsuit, wear it to an FKA Twigs concert, and document the evening on Instagram. What's more, Leon and Lim have finally won over the toughest critic of all: Kenzo Takada himself. After he retired in 1999, Takada had discreetly kept his distance from the designers who had replaced him (most recently, Antonio Marras), but last year he let it be known that he was happy with the brand's new direction under Leon and Lim. He began attending Kenzo runway shows but had never sat down with Leon and Lim until recently, when, at W's behest, they all gathered in a Paris living room.
Of course, any meeting between a label's founder and his successors is ripe for awkward moments. But Leon and Lim, both practiced networkers, laid the groundwork for good vibrations with Takada early on: One of their first moves at Kenzo was to write a letter telling him how honored they were to be at the house that bears his name. In Paris, where they live part-time, they ran into him at a charity gala, and later in a restaurant; the encounters were pleasant, if brief and slightly stilted. (Lim and Leon don't speak much French, and Takada's English is rudimentary.) Today, with the help of a translator, they discover that they have lots to talk about.
Lim, Leon, and Takada all arrived in Paris as outsiders. "When you think back to what was happening here in 1970, it was still very conservative and chic and Parisian," Leon says. "Kenzo was really the first foreigner to break ground for a lot of others to come later. And I think that gave us the courage, early on, to be foreigners. We felt really encouraged to bring our American and Asian influences to the brand."
It's hard to overstate Takada's impact on the French fashion scene of the '70s and '80s. With his splashy floral prints, voluminous silhouettes, and deft mixing of everything from Tokyo street style to African tribal motifs, he made the revered couture salons seem dreary and outdated; his fashion-as-freedom mantra caught on instantly with a generation hungry for something more open, more fun. His influence spilled over into the buoyantly glamorous, anything-goes scene at nightclubs like Le Palace, where the supply of champagne (and cocaine) seemed limitless. The photographer Jean-Paul Goude, who at the time was dating Grace Jones, one of Takada's early muses along with Jerry Hall, remembers him as not just a fashion designer but also as, he says, "a tremendously exotic pop star—a sort of gang leader, surrounded by groupies of all races, colors, and creeds."
Now 75, Takada is still spry and cheerful, though self-effacing; he's likely to claim that he's really "passé" or to mention that his back hurts. Asked about his motives as a young designer, when he redrew the boundaries of European fashion, he says simply, "I just wanted to do something different from everybody else." He immediately puts Lim and Leon at ease by declaring that he's glad they are not being too reverential of his original designs. "I think you are making the right choices," he says. "You are respecting what I did but also modernizing it. There's not too much nostalgia—and that's wonderful. "
The three swap stories about how they all started in the fashion business as retailers, with essentially no contacts and no money. Takada says that for him, the hardest part came even earlier, during his teenage years in Japan, when he tried to enroll in fashion school but was rebuffed for being a man: "I asked at three or four schools, 'Can a boy enroll here?' They all said, 'No. Fashion school is for women, who need to learn how to make clothes before getting married.' So Takada enrolled in an English program but switched the following year, once the Bunka Fashion College in Tokyo began accepting male students. In 1965, he traveled from Japan to Europe by boat, stopping in Saigon, Hong Kong, Singapore, Bombay, and Djibouti—all places that would soon provide him with creative inspiration. Settling in Paris, he worked as a freelance designer until he found a $400-a-month space and opened his first boutique, Jungle Jap. A friend helped paint Henri Rousseau–style murals on the walls; for the clothes, Takada used cheap kimono fabrics and remnants that he found at the textiles market, piecing everything together with a rented sewing machine.
Lim and Leon got a similarly modest start: In 2002, each contributed $5,000 to launch the first Opening Ceremony store, on Howard Street, in a then-marginal part of downtown New York. The two had met as students at the University of California, Berkeley, and both went on to work in corporate jobs (Leon in merchandising at the Gap and Burberry, Lim as an investment banker). For the first few months, they were the only staffers at Opening Ceremony, but they mostly stayed hidden in the back, too shy to interact with customers. "Finally, we realized that we had to be out front or we wouldn't sell anything," Leon says. Every year they selected little-known designers from different countries and introduced the brands to New York; early on, the sparse inventory served as an unexpected buzz-builder: "We couldn't buy that much, so things would sell out quickly. And the word on the street was, if you don't buy it now, it's not going to be there anymore."
Today, Opening Ceremony is a kind of multinational, multidisciplinary creative platform through which Lim and Leon try out whatever catches their fancy, whether it's designing a smart watch with Intel or staging a play-cum-fashion show at New York's Metropolitan Opera House. The actor-writer-musician Jason Schwartzman, a friend and frequent collaborator, says he knows of few people besides Leon and Lim with enough creativity and focus to simply absorb a new job as creative directors of a major French brand without slacking on any of their other duties. Their matter-of-fact confidence is evident in Paris two days before our meeting with Takada, when the two are conducting a rehearsal of their spring 2015 runway show at a skate park in the 18th arrondissement. Lim, who gave birth to her second daughter only a few weeks earlier, discusses the staging with the producer Etienne Russo; Leon watches the giant video screens that loom over the runway, depicting a mixed-race female avatar named Knola, who speaks in multiple languages about the importance of ecological awareness. The image is, in fact, a live, digitized video of a model concealed behind a curtain, Wizard of Oz–style. After Leon scrutinizes the model and her image on a monitor, he expresses a few concerns.
"On the screen, we can see the white on the bottom of her eyes, so it looks like she's on drugs," Leon tells the technicians. "You guys know this, right? I need to be insistent about it. The eyes make every expression look like she's on heroin and about to die." A producer assures Leon that this will be fixed in time for the show. "And it might be nice if she's smiling," Leon adds. The model attempts a grin, but that only makes things worse. "How come I don't see her bottom teeth?" Leon asks, looking at the screen. "It looks like she has a broken jaw."
At the show the next morning, if there are any technical glitches remaining on the video feed, nobody seems to notice; nor is it a big deal when the first model's shoe comes apart just before she is supposed to walk onstage. Kenzo is still judged by different standards than Louis Vuitton or Dior, and that's partly because Leon and Lim bring their own kind of youthful, we're-all-friends looseness to the brand, leaving them plenty of room for whimsy. This was clear from the designers' very first Kenzo runway show, during which Schwartzman played the drums, and another pal, Chloë Sevigny, walked the runway in an electric-blue taffeta jumpsuit.
Takada pronounces himself "amazed" by Leon and Lim's ability to multitask and asks them how they manage to do so much themselves; they reply that it helps to be two people instead of one. Takada smiles and says, "I find that today young people are much more serious than I was. They drink less alcohol."
Takada needs only a little prompting from Lim and Leon to begin reminiscing about his wild youth in Paris. There was the night in 1976 when he dressed as Minnie Mouse for a costume party at Le Palace after his runway show; a few months earlier he'd gone to Disney World for the first time and decided to base his whole collection on cartoon characters. That same year, there was a huge Fashion Week bash at the Château de Maisons-Laffitte that lasted until sunup. But Takada seems especially wistful about one boite in particular: Le Sept, on the Rue Sainte-Anne, to which he used to walk from his atelier several nights a week. "You saw everybody there," he says. "Saint Laurent, Lagerfeld—everybody. Grace Jones would go every night, wearing crazy things she found at the flea market."
A few years later, the creeping specter of AIDS began to darken everything, Takada recalls. He stopped doing cocaine, which had become a habit. "For five or six years, I was almost completely addicted," he admits. "But in 1986, a friend got sick, and we both said, 'We will stop, at once, everything.' " He adds, "I lost so many friends—all the people who were really beautiful and fun."
Nowadays, Takada spends most nights at home—another thing he has in common with Leon and Lim, who are both raising young children. (Lim has two daughters with her husband, the British filmmaker Matthew Killip; Leon and his partner, the writer and musicianPatrick Wilson, have 1-year-old twins.) "Going to bed early—it'sthe new going out!" Leon jokes. "But it really excites me to come home from work and play with my daughters."
Parenthood doesn't seem to have affected Lim and Leon's nonstop pace at Kenzo, where they've launched projects with, among others, the film director David Lynch and the sneaker brand Vans. For their fall 2012 ad campaign, they courted Jean-Paul Goude, Takada's old friend; Lim says the photographer grilled them hard about their vision before agreeing to come onboard.
Like anyone who was around at the height of Kenzo's popularity, Goude says he wasn't sure that anyone could take over his tremendous legacy. But, he says, one meeting with Leon and Lim was enough to convince him of their "iconoclastic and wildly creative" chops. In another unpredictable move, Leon and Lim aligned themselves with the twisted, hypercolorful world of Toiletpaper, the magazine founded by the artist Maurizio Cattelan and the photographer Pierpaolo Ferrari, for their fall 2013 campaign. (In it, miniaturized models Rinko Kikuchi and Sean O'Pry sit atop a gigantic hand and are pinned to the board of a bug collector.) Cattelan says, "I've always been fascinated by creative couples who met during their school years. It seems to me that those joint ventures are stronger than others. I think it's part of Humberto and Carol's secret recipe for success."
Schwartzman, who has worked with the pair on and off since 2008, observes that Leon, in particular, has an almost freakish ability to make countless things happen at once, while exhibiting no signs of anxiety. "You'll call Humberto and say, 'What are you up to?' And he'll say, 'Nothing.' So you ask if he wants to see a movie and have dinner, and he says, 'Sure!' At dinner you ask what he's been doing, and he'll say something like, 'Well, tomorrow we're taking over JFK airport for a fashion show.' 'What? How are you not all stressed-out?' I actually don't think that he's repressing it—I think he really isn't stressed-out, since he puts all of his energy into working."
After more than three years, Lim and Leon say they feel increasingly embraced by Kenzo's loyalists and clients—some of whom rediscovered thebrand through their children. Although Paris's old guard can seem just as insular as it was when Takada stepped off the boat 50 years ago, the globalization of fashion has forced just about everyone to recognize—grudgingly or not—that it's a new era. Maybe that's why Leon and Lim don't seem defensive about their lack of design training. They're the ones who, at Opening Ceremony, introduced Americans to Havaianas flip-flops and Acne Jeans; they clearly know what sells, and today that may be the most vital skill of all.
"People ask what 'luxury' means to us," Leon says. "For me, it's really luxurious to look at a runway show and say, 'I can buy that.' So at Kenzo we're not doing a show simply for a show's sake, or making clothes just for the runway, which happens a lot in fashion."
Lim makes a point of emphasizing that commercial factors do not drive their design process. "But since we have a store, we always think, Okay, How does this translate to sales? Will someone buy this if it's 3,000 euros? Because for us, the most important thing is for it to be in the store and for people to come in and buy it. You can have great press and whatnot, but at the end of the day, the sales are what talk."
Before Takada takes his leave, Leon and Lim ask if he'd like to meet for dinner soon to continue their conversation. "When?" he says, pressing them to choose a date on the spot.
Later, when Leon and I are discussing the delicate art of reinvigorating a fashion brand—a balancing act that's now been performed by dozens of designers but still retains the same degree of difficulty—I ask him if he's learned any lessons at Kenzo. He mentions one that's particularly crucial. "With fashion houses that have these kind of legacies, you realize that the reason they are still around is that the designer lived in the moment. So if you're the new person taking over, it's important to make sure that you're in your moment—but thinking about tomorrow, not yesterday."
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Hair by Sebastien Richard at Jed Root; makeup by Georgina graham at Management + Artists; manicures by Laura Forget at ArtList. Models: Mona Johannesson at IMG Models; Fando Alaguerateguy at Success Models. Set Design by Jean Michel Bertin at Streeters London. Produced by Michael Lacomblez at PRODn Paris. Digital Technician: Rhys Thorpe. Photography Assistants: Aline Blocman, Alexandre Philippon. Fashion Assistant: Priscilla Teko.
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UN Votes in Favor of 2 Pro-Palestine Resolutions, Calls for Respecting Historic Status Quo of Jerusalem Holy Sites
Category : Refugees News / United Nations
UN General Assembly. (File photo)
Adopting three resolutions by recorded vote on the questions of Palestine and the Middle East, the UN General Assembly today called for respect for the historic status quo at the holy places of Jerusalem and stressed the need to urgently exert collective efforts to launch credible negotiations on all final status issues in the Middle East peace process.
Through the terms of the text titled "Peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine", the Assembly reiterated its call for the achievement of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East. By further terms, it also called upon Israel to cease all unilateral actions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and called upon all States not to recognize any changes to the pre‑1967 borders and not to render aid or assistance to illegal settlement activities.
Also adopted was a resolution titled "Jerusalem", in which the Assembly reiterated its determination that any actions taken by Israel, the occupying Power, to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the Holy City of Jerusalem are illegal. Recalling the 2015 Security Council press statement on Jerusalem, in which the Council called for upholding unchanged the historic status quo at the Haram al‑Sharif, the Assembly stressed that a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the question of the City of Jerusalem should take into account the legitimate concerns of both the Palestinian and Israeli sides.
"No one is more exhausted than our people," the Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine said during the debate. Injustice and loss have defined Palestinian existence across generations, he said, detailing how Palestinian civilians are being killed and injured and their homes destroyed by Israeli airstrikes while settler militias act as mercenaries for the occupation.
Highlighting the resilience shown by the Palestinian people, including during the conflict in May, he said that Israel, under cover of platitudes, is escalating its violations. That country cannot be allowed to continue its security rhetoric and false accusations, he said, also taking the floor after action to add that the language concerning Jerusalem is in line with the position adopted by the Security Council and voted in favour by all its 15 members.
South Africa's delegate drew attention to Israel's recent designation of six Palestinian civil society organizations as terrorist organizations. That is unjustified, he said, calling on Israel to give human rights organizations access to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons and interrogation centres.
Short Link : http://bit.ly/31tdxK4
Palestinian Structures Demolished by Israeli Municipality of West Jerusalem
Chief of UN Palestine Refugee Agency Calls for Support to Prevent Collapse
UN Expert: Israel Has No Interest to End World's Longest Military Occupation, Int'l Community Must be Held to Account
UNRWA Chief: Palestinian Refugees' Right of Return Enshrined in Int'l Law
UN General Assembly Passes Vote Affirming Palestinian Sovereignty over Their Natural Resources

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Just want to say many thanks for the signs. We are really pleased with how they have come out and also the service you have provided so thank you very much!
A pint waiting for when we open next week for you…!
I just wanted to say thanks for your work on our external signs. They look perfect and really make a difference.
Thanks for getting them sorted so quickly and efficiently.
Thanks again for your work and professionalism. I've attached two images for your archives.
We would like to thank you once again for our fabulous new sign, it has created quite a stir and the response from our customers has been excellent………and would like to congratulate him on his best work yet!
Great working with you Mark.
Thank you for assisting us with our signs. It all went very smoothly and looks great.
I have to say how pleased we all are with the new signage – it all looks great. Thank you!
We were commissioned by Harrow Council to create some public welcome artwork at one of the gateways into North Harrow. We had met with Mark from Butler Dsigns before, we loved the fact that his business is a family affair and that he is so passionate about what he does. It shows in the work. We commissioned them to paint a 'Ghost' style painted advertising sign on the side of a Newsagents in North Harrow with a 1950's version of the branding we designed. They did a fantastic job and we are always looking for ways to work with them again…which we are.
Our company has recently opened Rosie and Java, a specialist Tea and Coffee Merchant, at 12 Paved Court, Richmond-upon-Thames, Surrey. Paved Court is a picturesque Victorian passageway, closely associated with the history of Richmond and Richmond Palace. The Court is now lined with upmarket boutique retail shops. During the planning of our shopfitting we decided that specialist bespoke hand-signwriting was needed, so as to remain in-keeping with the style of the period building. Mark and his team at Butler Associates have provided the ideal solution. From planning the job, with the design and the signwriting. The finished job looks absolutely stunning! We receive remarks about our beautiful signage from both, other retailers and our customers. To see Mark's work, the art of a truly inspired, professional signwriter, visit Rose and Java, Richmond-upon-Thames.
It arrived already today. I am absolutely delighted with it. Great work.
I received the pub sign that my wife commissioned you to paint for a Christmas present. I wanted to send a quick thank you and tell you how we are both very pleased with the workmanship. It is truly a work of art and will add that certain distinctiveness to my new "Man Room" that we were looking to achieve.
Many thanks for the new sign, and for getting it to us by Easter – we are all thrilled with it. As you suggested we shall now save up and have another one done on the other corner of the church!
The sign looks fab! Have already had several compliments ranging from "wow" to "fantastic". You said I wouldn't be disappointed. Thanks to both of you for an excellent job. You've been great to deal with.
Let me start by saying that the sign was excellent and it was a job very well done, everyone in the parish said how good it looked and has certainly made a big difference, the poster holders are good too. We will certainly recommend your work. Thank you for all your efforts, we will certainly use your services again.
I would firstly like to say how delighted I am at the finished shop front and facia. We have since received numerous compliments from both our clients and the general public and it is really is a credit to you and your team. This is now the third time I have dealt with your company and as ever it is refreshing to experience your punctuality, diligence and utmost professionalism throughout the works. I would not hesitate to recommend you and wish you all the continued success you deserve.
Thank you very much – the sign looks great. I'm looking forward to seeing them installed; the contractors should be doing it in the next couple of days.
I write on behalf of Kingswood Community Church to say thank you for the Church Sign. It has met with everyone's approval and looks fantastic. Thank you for all the hard work from you and your team.
Hats off!!! That sign is absolutely brilliant! It literally is a show stopper. I didn't know the sign was up and was driving past the club, did a double take and slammed on the brakes to look at it! And walking passed it this afternoon a number of people were looking at it. All we have to do now is get rid of the tree in front of it. It even survived the winds we just had. Craftsmanship! Many thanks for a job brilliantly done.
Mark McQuater, Chief executive of Barracuda Group congratulated me on the 'high polished' minor refurbishment at the Pembroke Public House. I in turn would like to pass on my thanks and appreciation to you for all your dedicated hard work on this refurbishment and look forward to working on future projects. A job well done!
Many thanks, the signs looks great!


is it posible to have a extension cord go over 1 km?
I'm asking this because I have a camper and its going about 1 km away from the house and I don't have a gas generator. I need power for the camper. How much gage wire would I need to make this happen?
Could you amp it up at several segments of the run?
For every force, there is a counter force. With that said, anything else you add to the already heaping pile of cable, is just more weight and expense. I'd look for a different solution, for real!
No. As "plumber_bob" wrote, current loss (or equivalently voltage drop) due to resistenace is the issue.
I found (Google "extension cord resistance) a nice posting online with the requisite data (so I don't have to compute it myself). The voltage drop was computed assuming a full 15 amp load.
Voltage drop (like resistance) is linear with distance, so you just multiply the voltage drop listed by the number of hundred-foot lengths you have. It's also linear with the current load, so a lower current will result in less voltage loss.
1 km = 3281 ft, so a standard 16AWG extension cord (those nice orange outdoor ones) carrying 15 amps will drop 521.7 volts over 1 km. Since that's much more that the original input voltage (117 VAC), you won't get any power out the far end. It'll all be dissipated in the form of heating up the extension cord.


Zac Posen gown. Now available for preorder here. Only $13,000 CAD! Or…the cost of one-third of our basement dig-out. That is how my brain works these days.
Peaches N Cream Barbie. One of the greatest of all time. Do not fight me on this. You will lose.
I'm going to write about this soon, so this isn't a complete thought (yet), but a huge tug-of-war in my adult life has been reconciling my LOVE for fashion and my struggling (to put it nicely) wardrobe.
Last night was pretty much an all-nighter with a feverish babe and I'm probably just feeling slightly wistful/bitter that I've been either pregnant or breastfeeding for four years now. I'm ready to wear grownup clothes. And/or Barbie gowns.


text:
Skaidejavri eller Skäidijävri är en sjö i Finland. Den ligger i kommunen Utsjoki i landskapet Lappland, i den norra delen av landet,  km norr om huvudstaden Helsingfors. Skaidejavri ligger  meter över havet. Arean är  hektar och strandlinjen är  kilometer lång. Sjön   Omgivningarna runt Skaidejavri är i huvudsak ett öppet busklandskap.

Källor

Insjöar i Lappland, Finland
Utsjoki

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Weekly Calendar: June 29 — July 9, 2017
by Reporter Staff
Great Decisions, monthly discussion of today's important world affairs. "Conflict in the South China Seas." 5:30 p.m., library. Call Jocelyn, (631) 749-0042 for details.
"Sun, Sand and Books," summer reading program for adults begins. Runs through August 19. Library. (631) 749-0042.
Friday Night Dialogues, "Recovering Looted Nazi Art" with Raymond Dowd, an attorney specializing in the recovery of looted art. 7 p.m., library. (631) 749-0042.
Annual Faculty Concert, 7:30 p.m., Performance Tent, Perlman Music Program. Free. (212) 877-5045.
Mashomack Book-in-the-Woods, a half mile walk and story as you go. "The Busy Tree" by Jennifer Ward on view in July. Mashomack Preserve.
Summer kayak trip, a paddle along tidal creeks. 9 a.m. to noon. Mashomack Preserve. $45 includes equipment. Reserve at (631) 749-4219.
Book Sale Room, open for a special sale. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., library. (631) 749-0042.
"Women of the Manor," exhibition tours. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sylvester Manor Educational Farm. $10. Grounds open for free. (631) 749-0626.
Battle of the Books, summer team reading competition for young adults. Noon to 1 p.m., library. (631) 749-0042.
Patriotic cupcakes, young adults decorate treats to celebrate Independence Day. 1:30 p.m., library. (631) 749-0042.
A benefit, to support Timothy Hill Ranch in Riverhead. 4 to 7 p.m. at the home of Tim Murphy, 68 Ram Island Drive.
Youth programs begin, 9 a.m. to noon, Sylvester Manor Educational Farm. Programs run through August 18. For information, sylvestermanor.org or (631) 749-0626.
"Summer Festival Fun," a youth bus trip to Cutchogue Village Green for bounce house, slides, face painting and more. Meet at the Shelter Island Library at 12:30 p.m. Bus leaves at 12:45 p.m. Register at the youth services desk. (631) 749-0042.
THURSDAY, JULY 6
Fund raising party, to benefit the Strongpoint Theinert Ranch for veterans in New Mexico. 5 p.m. South Ferry lawn. Cocktails and canapes. Ferry cruise aboard the M/V Lt. Joe Theinert follows with dinner and dancing from 7 to 9 p.m. Register at jjtmf.org or call (631) 835-6503.
Ferry Writers, join in writing exercises with supportive group. 5 p.m., library. (631) 749-0042.
Movies at the library, screening of "Woman in Gold," the 2015 film by Simon Curtis. 7 p.m., library. (631) 749-0042.
FRIDAY, JULY 7
"Young Naturalists: Weather or Not," a program for ages 4 and up. 10:30 a.m. to noon and 1 to 2:30 p.m. Mashomack Preserve. Reserve at (631) 749-4219.
Tent Week, events all week long under a big tent on Bateman Road lot adjacent to the library. Runs through July 15. (631) 749-0042.
Tent Week: Suds and Song, Friends of the Library fundraiser. Music by Caroline Doctorow and the Steamrollers under the tent adjacent to the library. 6 p.m. $40 in advance, $45 at the door includes prosecco, local beer, brats, clams and more. (631) 749-0042.
Blessing of the Pets, by Father Peter DeSanctis of Our Lady of the Isle Church. 11 a.m. in the park across from the church. Prizes and a pet parade. All are welcome.
Coffee and Coloring, adults enjoy refreshments while coloring away stress. 1 p.m., library. (631) 749-0042.
60th annual Shelter Island fireworks, dusk at Crescent Beach. Food trucks and "pop up" tents from Island eateries. Fireworks by Grucci at dusk. Raindate July 9.
Family Fun: Full moon walk, 7:30 to 9 p.m. Mashomack Preserve. Reserve at (631) 749-4219.
House Tours, noon to 3 p.m. Sylvester Manor Educational Farm. $25. For information, sylvestermanor.org or (631) 749-0626.
Creekside Concert, Jim Hurst Trio performs outdoors at Sylvester Manor Educational Farm. Gates open 5 p.m. Music starts at 6 p.m. $25 in advance, $30 at the door. (631) 749-0626 or sylvestermanor.org.
(At Town Hall unless otherwise noted.)
July 1: Special meeting, Village of Dering Harbor Board, Village Hall, 9 a.m.
July 5: Deer and Tick Committee, 10 a.m.
July 5: Town Board, work session, 1 p.m.
July 6: Waterways Management Advisory Council, 6 p.m.
EVERY WEEK
Alcoholics Anonymous, Fridays, beginners meeting, 7:30 p.m., Presbyterian Church. Open discussion Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. St. Mary's; Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, 7:30 p.m.
Al-Anon, Saturdays, 10 a.m., library, St. Mary's.
Alateen, for ages 11 to 18, Tuesdays, 3 p.m., Presbyterian Church, downstairs.
American Legion, Friday night dinners with Stephanie, 6 p.m. For legionnaires, auxiliary members and boosters. (631) 749-1180.
Art Barnett Poetry Roundtable, Tuesdays, 4 p.m., library.
Clase de Ingles, Thursdays, 4 p.m., English class for Spanish-speaking adults, library. Free.
"Country Heat," with Julia Weisenberg. Dance cardio class set to pop country music. Fridays 5:30 to 6:15 p.m. and Mondays 6 to 6:45 p.m. American Legion/Youth Center. $5/class.
Essentrics with Laury, low-impact exercise. Thursdays, 8 to 9 a.m.; Saturdays, 11 a.m. to noon, American Legion/Youth Center. Wednesdays, 5 p.m., library. Free.
Family storytime, Mondays, 11 a.m., library. (631) 749-0042. Call for dates.
Farm stand, Fridays, noon to 5 p.m., Saturdays 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sundays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sylvester Manor Educational Farm.
Farmers Market, Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Shelter Island Historical Society Haven's Barn.
Fit Fusion, Wednesdays with Callie Atkins, 5 p.m., Recreation Department, Legion Hall, $5.
Golf ladies scramble, Fridays 8:45 a.m., Shelter Island Country Club. Open to the public. Non-members pay regular greens fee plus $7 for cart.
Golf men's ad hoc Thursdays, 9:30 a.m., Shelter Island Country Club. Open to the public Non-members pay regular greens fee plus $7 for cart.
Junior golf, for ages 6 to 16. Hour long lessons Tuesday and Thursday at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., Shelter Island Country Club. $140 for seven lessons. Scott Lechmanski (631) 495-3352.
Kids yoga, Thursdays, 10:15 a.m., library. (631) 749-0042. Call for dates.
Knitting Club, Thursdays, 5 p.m., library.
Mah-jongg Club, Mondays, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., library lower level.
PiYo, Pilates/yoga based exercise, Tuesdays and Thursdays with Julie Romanchuk-Weisenberg, 6 to 7 p.m., Recreation Department, Legion Hall, $5 (10 class card $45). (516) 659-9155.
Poker Table, Thursdays, 2 p.m., Senior Activity Center. (631) 749-1059.
Senior mah-jongg, Fridays and Mondays, 1:30 to 5 p.m., Senior Activity Center, SCAC. (631) 749-1059.
Senior yoga, Fridays and Mondays, 10 a.m., Senior Activity Center, Fridays $5, Mondays free. (631) 749-1059.
Sensory exploration, young children play at multiple stations. Wednesdays, 11:15 a.m., library. (631) 749-0042. Call for dates.
Silver Circle Social Club, Wednesdays, 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Senior Activity Center. Call (631) 749-1059 for details.
Story and a craft, Fridays, 10:30 a.m., library. (631) 749-0042. Call for dates.
Story Thyme, Saturdays, 10 a.m. Sylvester Manor Farmstand, Manwaring Road in July and August. (631) 749-0626.
2Rs4Fun!, Wednesdays, 2:15 p.m., library.
Tai Chi, Thursdays with Fred Soroka, 6:30 p.m., Recreation Department, school gym. $25 per month.
Toddler story time, Mondays, 1 p.m., library. Call for dates: (631) 749-0042.
Total body toning, with Maggie Davis. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 8:30 a.m., Fiske Field basketball courts. $5/class. Maggie, (631) 664-1476.
Youth Center, weekdays 3 to 6 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays 6 to 10 p.m. Legion Hall, gym.
Zumba, with Susan Binder, Thursdays, 7 a.m., Saturdays, 8:30 a.m., and Tuesday, 7 a.m. Recreation Department, Youth Center. $5/class.
Blessing of the Pets, Mashomack Preserve, Shelter Island Library, Strongpoint Theinert Ranch, Sylvester Manor Educational Farm, Tent Week, Timothy Hill Ranch
Shelter Island Police blotter
A shot to make 'the show' — HCBL hopefuls work out for scouts
The Pridwin's Wednesday night cookouts are a summertime staple on Shelter Island: Photos
Build your own oasis at Pandion on Shelter Island: Northforker Dream Home
The Sound of the North Fork: Points East
Hamptons Standard offering sit-down or grab-and-go dining in Hampton Bays


text:
module Monban
  # Configuration options for Monban
  # @since 0.0.15
  class Configuration
    attr_accessor :user_token_field, :user_token_store_field
    attr_accessor :hashing_method, :token_comparison, :user_lookup_field
    attr_accessor :sign_in_notice
    attr_accessor :sign_in_service, :sign_up_service, :sign_out_service
    attr_accessor :authentication_service, :password_reset_service
    attr_accessor :failure_app
    attr_accessor :creation_method, :find_method
    attr_accessor :no_login_handler, :no_login_redirect

    attr_writer :user_class

    def initialize
      setup_class_defaults
      setup_token_hashing
      setup_notices
      setup_services
      setup_requirements
    end

    # Default creation method. Can be overriden via {Monban.configure}
    #
    # @see #creation_method=
    def default_creation_method
      ->(params) { Monban.user_class.create(params) }
    end

    # Default hashing method. Can be overriden via {Monban.configure}
    #
    # @see #hashing_method=
    def default_hashing_method
      ->(token) do
        if token.present?
          BCrypt::Password.create(token)
        else
          token
        end
      end
    end

    # Default find method. Can be overriden via {Monban.configure}
    #
    # @see #find_method=
    # @see Monban.user_class
    def default_find_method
      ->(params) { Monban.user_class.find_by(params) }
    end

    # Default token comparison method. Can be overriden via {Monban.configure}
    #
    # @see #token_comparison=
    def default_token_comparison
      ->(digest, undigested_token) do
        BCrypt::Password.new(digest) == undigested_token
      end
    end

    # Default handler when user is not logged in. Can be overriden via {Monban.configure}
    #
    # @see #no_login_handler=
    # @see #sign_in_notice
    # @see #no_login_redirect
    def default_no_login_handler
      ->(controller) do
        controller.flash.notice = Monban.config.sign_in_notice
        controller.redirect_to Monban.config.no_login_redirect
      end
    end

    # User class. Can be overriden via {Monban.configure}
    #
    # @see #user_class=
    def user_class
      @user_class.constantize
    end

    private

    def setup_token_hashing
      @hashing_method = default_hashing_method
      @token_comparison = default_token_comparison
    end

    def setup_notices
      @sign_in_notice = 'You must be signed in'
    end

    def setup_class_defaults
      @user_class = 'User'
      @user_token_field = :password
      @user_token_store_field = :password_digest
      @user_lookup_field = :email
      @creation_method = default_creation_method
      @find_method = default_find_method
      @no_login_redirect = { controller: '/sessions', action: 'new' }
      @no_login_handler = default_no_login_handler
    end

    def setup_services
      @authentication_service = Monban::Services::Authentication
      @sign_in_service = Monban::Services::SignIn
      @sign_up_service = Monban::Services::SignUp
      @sign_out_service = Monban::Services::SignOut
      @password_reset_service = Monban::Services::PasswordReset
    end

    def setup_requirements
      @failure_app = lambda{|e|[401, {"Content-Type" => "text/plain"}, ["Authorization Failed"]] }
    end
  end
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: How to geometrically interpret conditional expectation property tower rule?? I have a question on how to interpret conditional expectation its properties geometrically.  There are two properties of conditional expectation in particular that I'm trying to interpret:
Given a probability space $(\Omega, \mathcal{G}, \mathbb{P})$

*

*If $\mathcal{H} \subset \mathcal{G}$ then $\mathbb{E}[\mathbb{E}[X|\mathcal{H}]  | \mathcal{G}] = \mathbb{E}[ X|\mathcal{H}]$.  (tower rule)

*If $ X \mathrel{\unicode{x2AEB}} G$ then $\mathbb{E}[X|\mathcal{G}] = \mathbb{E}[ X]$.
I interpret the tower rule geometrically using linear algebra as follows:

*

*$H \subset G$ is interpreted as $\mathcal{H}$ is a subspace contained in the subspace $\mathcal{G}$.

*$\mathbb{E}[X|\mathcal{H}]$ is the projection of $X$ onto $\mathcal{H}$.

*So, $\mathbb{E}[\mathbb{E}[X|\mathcal{H}]  | \mathcal{G}] = \mathbb{E}[ X|\mathcal{H}]$ can be interpreted as the projection of X onto $\mathcal{H}$, projected onto $\mathcal{G}$, is the same as the projection of X onto $\mathcal{H}$.
This makes sense.  However, the reason I don't like this interpretation is that it is also true if I swap $\mathcal{H}$ and $\mathcal{G}$.  So, this doesn't use the property that $\mathcal{H} \subset \mathcal{G}$.  Can someone help me come up with a better interpretation of this?
related: Question about conditional expectation as projection

A: Let's start with a little Linear Algebra warm-up.
Let $V$ be a vector space (which might be infinite dimensional, in that case we will require it to be a Hilbert space), and let $W \subset U$ be two (closed) sub-spaces of $V$.
Denote by $P_W$ and $P_U$ the orthogonal projections on $W$ and $U$, respectively.
It is straightforward to check
$$P_W\cdot P_U = P_U\cdot P_W = P_W.$$
That is, the operators commute and their product is precisely $P_W$.
Back to the probabilistic setting. We consider the Hilbert space $L^2(\mathcal{G})$ of square integrable random variables measureable with respect to $\mathcal{G}$. Now suppose that there exists $\mathcal{H}_1 \subset \mathcal{H}_2 \subset \mathcal{G}$, and consider the closed subspaces $L^2(\mathcal{H}_1)$, $L^2(\mathcal{H}_2)$ of square integrable random variables with respect to $\mathcal{H}_1$ and $\mathcal{H}_2$.
It is clear that $L^2(\mathcal{H}_1) \subset L^2(\mathcal{H}_2)$, and by the previous comment
$$P_{L^2(\mathcal{H}_1)}\cdot P_{L^2(\mathcal{H}_2)} = P_{L^2(\mathcal{H}_2)}\cdot P_{L^2(\mathcal{H}_1)}= P_{L^2(\mathcal{H}_1)}.$$
Now, we can interpert $P_{L^2(\mathcal{H}_1)}(X)$ as $\mathbb{E}\left[X|\mathcal{H}_1\right]$ and $P_{L^2(\mathcal{H}_2)}(X)$ as $\mathbb{E}\left[X|\mathcal{H}_2\right]$ to get the desired result.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Section 81.1
81.1. An identity verification panel shall be established for every place where a polling station is located.
An identity verification panel is composed of three members, including a chairman, appointed by the returning officer. In the case of a municipality described in section 77, sections 77 to 79 apply with the necessary modifications to the appointment of the panel members other than the chairman.
If there are three or fewer polling stations in a place, the deputy returning officer and the poll clerk of the polling station may act as panel members.
The function of the panel members is to verify the identity of electors who have been unable to produce identification pursuant to the third paragraph of section 215. Decisions are made by a majority vote.
1999, c. 15, s. 32; 2005, c. 28, s. 69; 2009, c. 11, s. 9.
If there is only one polling station in a place, the deputy returning officer and the poll clerk of the polling station may act as panel members.
1999, c. 15, s. 32; 2005, c. 28, s. 69.
1999, c. 15, s. 32.


6 beds 3 Bathrooms, 1 ½ Bathroom 3700 Sq.Ft.
Real Estate Masterpiece owned by Thomas Worth Olcott, President of the Mechanics & Farmers Bank of Albany. Built over 100 years ago, Feat.: Albany skyline & Catskill views, most windows and mechanicals have been updated. Original French doors, woodwork, wood floors, staircase,fireplace, plaster moldings, porch & columns. Main house w/ butler's staircase & servants rooms.Carriage house feat.: 3 car garage, horse stable. Currently rented @ $975. 41.71 acres additional 75 acres available. East Greenbush schools.


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Patna;Bihar: A head-on clash between Modi and Nitish Kumar on Sunday with the rising prices of pulses came before the public.
Modi said in Patna rally, "Bihar government does not crackdown on the hoarding of pulses." Modi said, "Taking a dig at Lalu he said the bait eating are drinking now lentils."
Nitish Kumar responded in Hajipur. He said, "People of Bihar used to eat dal bhat in the past. Now the pulses have vanished from the plates. Please live in penance of eating rice with vegetables. BJP picks vote by merchants hoarding and tells them responsible."
The Prime Minister expressed confidence of the BJP's victory in Bihar; the people are in the mood to choose a new government. the hoarders will not be spared after November 8. However, Kumar said, " the anti votes have trailed them in first and second phase of polling which overwhelmed. The air in two phases has come out . The third stage will sweep."
Kumar said, "the Prime Minister show the figures to embarrass us. Further; if you come, please speak about -- Which state has an equal number of boys and girls in 9th grade?"
The boys and girls in Bihar will be taught English so that they do not feel inferior. the youth of Bihar come to know that, if there is restoration on the moon, they will reach there too. The BJP government in Jharkhand will not recruit a Bihari on peon post , but we do not stop here.
Kumar speared on PM rallies and foreign trip. he spoke, "after becoming prime minister either goes on the foreign trip or steps in election journey."
The Prime Minister said that your stay in the 25-years rule is at verge of end. If we have to save Bihar, we will go the way of youth development. I have dared to seek votes on development.


Rome doesn't shut down for Christmas nor during the holidays!
During the Christmas holidays museums, archeological areas, monuments and exhibitions may have slightly different opening days and hours. But there is always something open in Rome! For instance, the 100 cribs exhibition is always open through January 6 from 9:30am to 8pm.
Check back this story before you actually go to one of these places as there will probably be further updates in the next few days.
General rule: most landmarks are closed on Mondays. Exceptions in this post.
General rule: all open, but most close in the early afternoon.
The Colosseum, Roman Forums and Palatine hill are open as usual until dusk. The same holds for Caracalla's baths.
The Vatican Museums (which include the Sistine Chapel) are open until 2pm.
Impressionism until 2pm, Treasures from Naples until 2pm, Augustus until 3pm, National Geographic until 3pm, Cezanne until 3:30pm, Modigliani until 4pm, Cleopatra until 5pm, AntoniazzoRomano until 7pm, Duchamp until 7:30pm.
General rule: all closed. Some exhibition centres are open.
The Italian Folk Art & Traditions Museum is a mind-blowing destination. Perfect for the whole family: young and old ones. You'll learn so much about Italian culture and habits…. Our tip #1 for your Christmas Day visit. Open from 2pm to 8pm.
For those who don't celebrate Christmas at all, the Modigliani exhibition is a good choice as it's the only one open in the morning: from 10am (closes at 8pm).
Other exhibitions: Treasures from Naples 3-8pm, Cezanne 3:30-8:30pm, National Geographic 4-8pm, Augustus 4-8pm.
General rule: all open, standard hours.
Exception: The Vatican Museums are closed.
Exception: The exhibition National Geographic will be open from 10am to 8pm.
General Rule: Same as December 24.
Exception: The exhibition Cleopatra is open until 6pm.
General Rule: Same as December 25.
The National Gallery of Modern Art to be open from 1:30pm to 7:30pm.
The exhibition Modigliani opens at 12pm (closes at 8pm), Cleopatra opens at 12pm (closes at 9pm), Duchamp from 1:30pm to 7:30pm.
General rule: most landmarks are closed on Mondays. But this is a holiday, therefore there are many exceptions.
Cezanne 9:30am-8:30pm, Modigliani 10am-8pm, Treasures from Naples 10am-8pm, Cleopatra 10am-9pm, National Geographic 10am-8pm.


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text:
What We Played at Origins 2016 (Part One)
Blog, Featured News, What We Played
Steve S. (Steebin)
Mystic Vale
In general, I rather enjoy deck-building games so when Matt was telling me about the copy of Mystic Vale that he got, I was pretty excited to give it a shot. Mystic Vale takes deck-building to the next level by having players craft the cards in their decks with clear plastic cards (think Gloom) that slide into the card sleeves of your basic deck. I really enjoyed this one. It provides you with a lot of strategies to gain points, offers a new mechanic in a familiar form and it looks great!
Full disclosure, I unfairly hated on this game when I first played it. I stepped in for Matt and he gave me a quick rules run down and took over for him. As the game progressed everything felt very pointless and like I could never by card upgrades. I finally felt like I was making progress right when the game was ending and did not have a very good score. We did play again the next day and we realized we got some rules wrong and things seemed to change dramatically from that one small change (we did not have the Fertile Earth cards setup as an available purchase option). On the second play, everyone seemed to be able to get some type of engine going and more card crafting was happening and clearer goals were forming. I don't think this game is bad but it does feel gimmicky. I also did not feel connected to the theme at all, whatever the theme is. It does however make me interested in seeing the game that incorporates this mechanic into a larger game. I would much rather play a game of Trains over Mystic Vale.
We'll have a review of AEG's new "card crafting" game, Mystic Vale, on the site soon, so I won't spoil too much. I will say that the system works surprisingly well, proving to be more than a gimmick. The gameplay feels familiar, but the introduction of a push-you-luck mechanism, when combined with the progression of building your cards, makes for a very unique and enjoyable game. I'm looking forward to playing with the system a bit more, but so far it's promising.
A photo posted by @sinuhmuhnbuhns on Jun 17, 2016 at 3:48pm PDT
Why First?
I'd heard about this strange little card game from Matt Wolfe, the OG Hipster Gamer, but hadn't come across it to purchase until this year's Origins. This game is all about being in second place and you'll play cards throughout the round to move yourself and your opponents up and down a track before scoring points at the end of the round. The desire to constantly be in second, and the fact that the only way to be in first at the end is to be in second, makes for a mind-bending experience that is wholly hilarious. For $10, I couldn't pass up on this unique and bizarre little game.
The wackiest game of Origins 2016 award goes to Why First? This game is such a crazy mind bender of a game that has yourself questioning everything you have ever known about competing with other players. The goal of the game is to hit a scoring sweet spot which is, well, second place. Everything about this game is all about second place. Each round players use a hand of cards and secretly chooses one and plays it on another player or on themselves. Pawns will move backwards and forwards along a track. After all cards have been played ther person in second gains or loses points depending on what space they are on. Now that player is losing because they are in first and everyone else is winning because they are all tied for second! Is your mind melting yet like a cake in the rain!?
This game is absolutely insane. You are trying to be in second place to score points, but you're trying to have the second most points after five rounds to win. It was a lot of fun to play and totally nuts trying to move everyone's pawns around so you could come out not quite on top.
Junk Art
I had only heard about Junk Art a few days before Origins and I knew this is something I would need in my collection for family game nights. This is such a great and fun game and the different game modes keeps things fresh and lots of fun due to the gameplay varieties. There is also a deck of cards that depicts the different colored pieces that determines what piece you must play. Some game modes require some group co-operation and other modes will rely on speed and height of your Junk (that's what she said). I really enjoyed this game and we played a few games back to back. It feels like a game where you never care about winning and just want to see how badly you can screw things up for your opponents. I want to be playing this right now.
This game is a cranked up Bandu. One of the hot games of Origins 2016, we were lucky to get our hands on a copy of this one, although there was an enlarged version of this one available for demo, as well. The game is played across several rounds, each of which giving players different objectives and criteria for the end of the round. You're made to stack various colored pieces of all manners of shape better than your opponents. It's very hard and totally wonderful.
One of my few intended purchases, Junk Art is the latest in Pretzel Games' ritzy dexterity line. Costing a whopping $70, this game takes the familiar stacking of Bandu and improves upon it with 10 different modes of play. The game isn't always about building the highest tower, sometimes it's about speed or durability. This variety is a lot of fun and it seemed as though everyone quickly latched onto their favorite way to play. It's definitely pricey, but so far it's been money well spent.
A photo posted by @sinuhmuhnbuhns on Jun 18, 2016 at 11:26am PDT
Junk Art w @SinUhMuhnBuhns @LeagueNonsense pic.twitter.com/gXYyvBZysB
— Daniel (@realDanlicata) June 18, 2016
Winning At #JunkArt w/@steebin pic.twitter.com/WSVAGfco0f
This game certainly made me nervous before starting out. There are a lot of different things to do and a lot of different ways to score. The theme is wonderful and the minis are spectacular. I really enjoyed playing this game. The final round was just completely mind blowing and everything I thought I had going on was ripped away from me in such a fantastic way that even though I lost at least fifty points I thought I had, everyone else got their Viking worlds ripped apart, too, and I couldn't even be mad, just awestruck. I definitely recommend this game:gameplay is exciting and well-paced, and everything about it is over-powerful and unbalanced to the point that it ultimately balances out. It was probably my favorite play of Origins. Just try it.
It's all the rage! Nothing by viking hype surrounding this one and I think it certainly deserves it. I am not one to be drawn into a mini's game trap but this was not one those games. At the heart of the game it is a card drafting game with area control. I initially went with a questing strategy in mind and just have enough players on the board to complete them, but that fell through kinda quickly. I went the Loki route and was gaining a TON of points just for having my warriors and botas killed/destroyed. There were so many memorable moments when playing this game. Like that time Kelly summoned a Fire Giant and destroyed everyone in the village or when Dan (Dan L.) wiped out the entire army invading Yggdrasil. And of course when I was bluffing and mopped up Dan's army with my one baby warrior. So much fun! Can't wait to play again to try out a different strategy.
A photo posted by Steve Seebode (@steebin) on Jun 18, 2016 at 2:12pm PDT
Worlds Fair: 1893
We previewed World's Fair 1893 on the site previously, but this was my first play of the final production copy. The game plays quickly and smoothly, and really is a wonderful entry level area-control game. It's simple but still begs for your attention each round; just make sure that you don't neglect the power of the Historical Figures cards. They can make or break your game!
This is a game I had the opportunity to play and enjoy prior to publication and I will say that the final game was just as excellent. The ferris wheel board design is wonderful and the game itself is great. I enjoy the decision making between trying to get the cards you want and placing your markers in sections that you need to actually score with those cards. This game is a perfect level of difficulty and an excellent length of time. I'm incredibly pleased with this game.
Check out our Worlds Fair: 1893 Preview!
Dice Heist
A simple but currently overpriced dice rolling set collection game where players are trying to steal items from different museums around the world. Drawing cards off a central deck you place them next to the corresponding museum locations. Each location has a die value from 2-5. On your turn you can decide to roll you one die and see if you can steal some loot or hire and sidekick and add more dice to your pool. It all comes down to luck and timing if you can earn any cards. I enjoyed this one and can see it being in a collection alongside games like Roll for It. I would not spend $20 for this game. Wait until the price goes down and I would recommend grabbing this one for a light and quick game.
Roll For It!
Roll for It has become a bit of a tradition; each year at Origins, we make our initial stop at Barley's for some food and play Roll for It, along with other light filler games, while we wait for our food. It's a random dice-fest, for sure, but that's kind of the point. Not terribly engaging, but still interesting enough to have on the table while we chat and wait.
This was the first game of Origins 2016 and I'd say it was was a successful start to the weekend, which could just be because I won. We played this little dice game while we waited for lunch at Barley after our six hour drive in. I love how easy it is to bring this one along and play it anywhere.
A photo posted by @sinuhmuhnbuhns on Jun 17, 2016 at 12:15pm PDT
ManaSurge
We played through Mana Surge while it was on Kickstarter, but this was my first play of the full production copy. My rules overview was a bit shoddy, so we spent the beginning of the game confused, but overall it was a fun experience. I'd say that six players is probably too many, at least when everyone is new to the game, but it's still functional. I'd consider it at 3-5 players moving forward.
I got a chance to check out a production copy of this game at the convention and I'll say that after I relearned the rules, I rather enjoyed it. We played with a pretty large group so it took a few spells to get in the swing of it, but it turned out to be a rather fast-paced card game with just enough take-that play to keep you on your toes. With that being said, I died at least three times and I will definitely need to step up my game the next time this game comes my way.
Daily Magic Games seems to know what they are doing when it comes to fantasy card games. This is a quick and easy game to play with a larger group of gamers. We did have some stumbles on the rules on the first couple rounds since the gameplay is a little different in terms of mechanics. The goal of the game is to cast spells that are bigger and better than your opponents to earn shards as points while making the other players have their spells explode in their face and cause damage. Playing certain cards can garner some special abilities like stealing tokens or cards, and even reversing the turn order. The game also fixes player elimination as long as you have shards to spend to revive. I enjoyed this one once we smoothed out the kinks but can't see it being as fun with a lower player count.
Welcome to the Dungeon
We got the first couple rounds of this one in while waiting for food. Even though we didn't finish playing, I feel like it's worth talking about. This game is so simple and with its press-your-luck dungeon crawling, it's always exciting. We stopped by the Iello booth for Matt to check out Welcome Back to the Dungeon, but they didn't have any. I can't wait to give that one's new characters a shot.
blood rage, dice heist, junk art, manasurge, mystic vale, origins 2016, roll for it, welcome to the dungeon, why first
WEB EDITOR/TECH SUPPORT : I enjoy all types of games from fillers to 3 hour euros. I am the least experienced member of the group but I have pretty quickly learned the whose who of the tabletop world. I am always willing to play any game you put in front of me. I enjoy listening to progressive metal music and I am a die hard Baltimore Orioles and Ravens fan.
Sep 11, 2018No Comments13773 Views
Dan is back from his travels and is ready to discuss some more games played at Gen Con - Gizmos, Blue Lagoon, Scarabya, and more.
Ep. 88 – Tiff's...
Dan is off being faux-European, so Matt and Tiff
Ep. 87 – Gen Con 2018...
We've made it all the way through the year
Ep. 86 – Free Spirit ...
Hi, there! Do you enjoy talking about games? Do


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Former Dead Drummer Has Rhythm on the Brain
September 6, 2013 by Calisa Cole
Attention, Deadheads: if you've ever wanted to crawl inside your favorite drummer's skull, now's your chance.
Former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart and his band are performing live at the Fillmore in San Francisco this week as part of the band's Superorganism tour.
As concert goers sway with the music, they'll also hear – and see – something, well, trippy. A computer will generate images and sounds representing Hart's brain activity, as it's captured by an electrode cap attached to his skull.
Founding members of the Grateful Dead Bob Weir, left, and Mickey Hart, right, performing.
While the imagery and sound will combine with the band's percussion-rich primal music to create a sensory, dreamy experience, there's something beyond entertainment happening here.
In an unlikely pairing, Hart is working with Adam Gazzaley, a neuroscientist at UC San Francisco, to establish the Rhythm and the Brain project.
"We want to understand how we can influence brain rhythms through activities like listening to music and playing video games," says Gazzaley.
Ultimately, the goal is to learn how to improve cognition and moods.
"When I played a drum for my grandmother, who had Alzheimer's, she spoke my name," says Hart. "She hadn't spoken in a year. That was power. Where did it come? How did it do this?"
For the most part, scientists study brain data after they've collected it, Gazzaley says. Now, Gazzaley and Hart are working with NVIDIA to use the power of GPUs to analyze the huge amounts of data the brain generates, in real time.
Touch of Grey Matter
While the dramatic demonstration during the concerts is more of an artistic effort than a scientific one, teams of developers from UCSF, Stanford, UC San Diego and interactive-entertainment studio Eye Vapor are working together to advance brain research.
To get a better idea of what is happening "under the hood," the team uses NVIDIA Tesla K20 GPU accelerators for calculations, NVIDIA Quadro 5000 graphics cards for visualization, CUDA 5.0 and NVIDIA Nsight tools to optimize code performance.
Gazzaley and his team are working to CUDA-accelerate EEG (electroencephalogram) processing to increase the fidelity of the real-time brain activity recordings. The goal, he says, is to better represent brain sources and neural networks, as well as to perform real-time artifact correction and mental state decoding.
"Not only will this improve the visualization, but more importantly, it will move EEG closer to being a real-time scientific tool," Gazzaley says. "Then we can use it for a host of new studies in our lab, including neurofeedback and closed-loop brain stimulation."
In the meantime, more fans will be swaying to the beat of Mickey Hart's brain, as the Superorganism tour continues through the end of September.
Further reading: learn more about Mickey Hart and Adam Gazzaley's collaboration in this piece from NPR's Steve Henn, and don't miss this article from Nature detailing Adam Gazzaley's work showing how games can improve multi-tasking skills.
Image credit: David King, via Flickr
Tags: CUDA | GPU


This light mint-flavored herbal blend will calm your nerves as you wind your way up Trail Ridge Road. Enjoy it any time you have stress or anxiety…or just need to lift your spirits!
Immune Building Tea is a light mint flavored tea that contains herbs high in anitoxidants and are known to stimulate the immune system that may help prevent illness.


The 10th dedicated freight train of DAMCO dispatched from Xinzhu, Xi'an railway station to Hamburg on July14,2018. The train was loaded with world famous fashion clothes and retail products. These cargoes were consolidated in DAMCO's warehouse in Shanghai and via Xi'an block train steering to Europe. During 18-20 transit time, the train will pass through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus,Poland and direct to terminal in Germany.
For this dedicated block train freight, TE provided pre-carriage trucking service from Shanghai to Xi'an and Xi'an-Hamburg rail transportation. As the rail operator for this block train in CIS and EU, we can guarantee the high-efficiency and safety of train operation.


Use: tapping of Aluminium, ACSR or Almelec conductors (LV or mV networks).
Use: tapping of copper conductors from Aluminium, ACSR or Almelec main conductors.
Use: LBH - connection of Aluminium, ACSR or Almelec bare conductors to copper plugs / LBI - connection of Aluminium bare conductors to copper conductors (top to top).
Use: tapping of copper conductors from main bare copper conductors.
Use: connection of copper conductors to copper plugs.


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Where do the Bonnes get everything they need for their machines?
All I know is that their machines are expensive, and they get their money from loans, stealing, digging, etc. But where do they get things like metal, circuit boards, wire, lights, and all that stuff?
Re: Where do the Bonnes get everything they need for their machines?
Stealing and dismantling other machines or recovering their destroyed machines to recycle them.
I believe their machines aren't expensive, just hard to found parts and building them, and they are always in bankruptcy.
Junk, thievery, black market purchases, serendipity—the four tenets of Tron Bonne's expertise in the art of making giant machines of doom.
It helps that Tron was Macgyver's best student, Tron could make a mech from two pieces of string and a fan.
Probably the same way Team Rocket manages to get the parts for their machines.
I think that they get those goods after they invaded an island/ city and would steal whatever they need; including wires or when the servbots scout around.
MM Blows the Bots up but I'm guessing there are other ways of taking them out; Emp, Traps, Stabbing the bus line in their heads, all kinds of things.
When they are dead/captured Tron just scraps them and takes their stuff.
Not to mention Teisel Bonne does most of the ruin runs. I can see him taking a small platoon of serve bots in with him to mine the areas dry.


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The for-profit student debt dilemma
Brown Center Chalkboard
Stephanie Riegg Cellini and Rajeev Darolia Thursday, June 23, 2016
College student loan debt has become a central focus of students and policymakers in the United States. Over the past ten years, the volume of outstanding college student loan debt has tripled, reaching more than $1 trillion and raising concerns for both students and policymakers. At the same time, enrollments in for-profit colleges spiked, rising from about 650,000 in 2000 to close to 2.5 million in 2010. Increased scrutiny and regulation of the for-profit sector has contributed to declining enrollment in recent years, but concerns remain over the high debt burdens and default rates of for-profit students.
Borrowing behavior across sectors and over time
In a Brown Center report we released today, we explore the trends in students' borrowing across sectors and examine how they have changed over time. Overall, the patterns of for-profit student borrowing look most similar to private nonprofit student borrowing. Relative to students in the public sector, for-profit and private nonprofit students are much more likely to borrow to finance their higher education, they borrow larger amounts of money, and also supplement federal borrowing with borrowing from nonfederal sources, which tend to have less-favorable terms.
Figure A displays the trend in the percentage of students who borrow (from any source) from 1996 to 2012. While the relative position of schools in this trend stays constant, and all schools experience an overall positive upward trend in the percentage of students borrowing, the for-profit sector experienced a steeper initial climb followed by a sharp decline in recent years. Between 1996 and 2008, the for-profit sector experienced a 30 percentage point increase in the proportion of students borrowing. But between 2008 and 2012, for-profit borrowing dipped—dropping from its peak of 87 percent back to just under its 2004 level of 73 percent.
Figure A. Percentage of Students Borrowing
What explains student borrowing?
1. Academics and demographics
Black-white disparity in student loan debt more than triples after graduation
Judith Scott-Clayton and Jing Li
Social Mobility Memos
The declining productivity of education
Jonathan Rothwell
Who would benefit most from free college?
Matthew M. Chingos
There are some obvious differences across sectors in the credentials that students seek. For-profit students are more likely than students in other sectors to be enrolled in certificate or associate's degree programs (59 percent). Only about 40 percent of for-profit students are enrolled in bachelor's degree programs, compared to roughly 90 percent of students in 4-year public and private nonprofits institutions.
Although for-profit students' borrowing patterns are similar to private nonprofit students', their demographics are a stark contrast. For-profit students are demographically most similar to public two-year students, but even between these two sectors, many important differences remain. For-profits have the highest proportion of female and minority students, they come from families with the lowest levels of parental education, are the most likely to be single parents, and have the highest average number of dependents among the sectors.
2. Financial resources and employment
The Impoverishment of the American College Student
By James V. Koch
The $13 Trillion Question
Edited by David Wessel
Central Banking after the Great Recession
Given the demographic composition of the student body, it should come as no surprise that for-profit students are most similar to, but in many ways still less affluent than, public two-year students who pay much lower costs for their higher education. For-profit students have the lowest average annual household income and are closest, on average, to the poverty line. Although the proportions of students who work are similar across sectors, for-profit students are the most likely to work full-time and log the most hours per week. For-profit and public two-year students are also most likely to have jobs off campus, which may increase commuting times and reduce campus integration.
3. Cost of education
Private nonprofits have average yearly gross tuition and fees totaling over $21,000—more than $11,000 higher than for-profits—while for-profit institutions have much higher average tuition and fees than public sector institutions. Compared to students at public two-year colleges, average gross tuition and fees of for-profit students are nearly seven times higher.
Stephanie Riegg Cellini
Nonresident Senior Fellow - Governance Studies, Brown Center on Education Policy
Twitter srcellini
Rajeev Darolia
Associate Professor, Martin School of Public Policy - University of Kentucky
What really sets for-profit students apart, though, is the amount and composition of grant aid they receive. For-profit students have higher average levels of federal grants than all other sectors—due to having the highest financial need among all student bodies and their high rate of application for aid. Yet, they have far lower levels of other types of grant aid, particularly in the form of aid from the college itself. While institutions in the private nonprofit sector appear to be trying to make tuition increases less painful for their students through the generous provision of institutional aid, there is no evidence that for-profits have made any significant effort, which leaves a gap in resources that has generally been filled by student loans.
Unexplained borrowing
We decompose the difference in borrowing rates between for-profit and public two-year colleges into explained and unexplained variation. Of a total difference of 63 percent, the observable factors described above explain about 38 percent of the differential. The relatively high for-profit cost is by far the largest predictor of this explained variation, implying that for-profit student borrowing would be lower if costs were more similar to those in public community college. Observable demographics, academics, location, and even student resources contribute much less to differences in borrowing between sectors when compared to the net costs of attendance. In addition, we find that our variables can explain roughly half of the difference in loan amounts between the for-profit and public two-year sector.
Several factors may play a role in accounting for the unexplained borrowing variation between sectors.
First, financially independent students in for-profit colleges may have unmeasured need or less access to other types of non-loan aid relative to students in other sectors, making them more reliant on student loans. For example, they could have less money in personal savings—which is not counted in financial aid formulas for low-income students—on hand to pay for their higher education expenses.
Second, for-profit students (more than students in other sectors) may lack access to information about their educational options, college finance, or their expected labor market outcomes. For-profit students are least likely to have parents who completed college. Along with public two-year students, for-profit students appear to receive less advice about aid from family and friends and conduct less internet research about their options. This may cause them to be overly optimistic about their expected earnings. The lack of information and college-going networks on which they can rely also makes for-profit students particularly susceptible to the types of misrepresentation about aid and job market prospects that have been reported at some for-profit colleges.
If informational deficiencies are at least partly to blame for the high and unexplained student borrowing in the for-profit sector, the increased public scrutiny and investigations of the for-profit sector—beginning around 2010—may have raised student awareness or changed the behavior of institutions. These changes may be reflected in the declining enrollment and borrowing in the sector that we observe between 2008 and 2012. Furthermore, new tools and policies, like the College Scorecard and the disclosure requirements under Gainful Employment, hold promise for improving student decision-making. However, these initiatives may not be sufficient for all students to make complex college choice and financial aid decisions. More work is needed to understand how to deliver such information and whether more intensive supports are needed for some students. Scalable interventions that couple information provision with personalized student support may hold promise for students considering enrolling in for-profit institutions.
Grant Michl and Diana Quintero contributed to this post.
The Brown Center Chalkboard launched in January 2013 as a weekly series of new analyses of policy, research, and practice relevant to U.S. education.
In July 2015, the Chalkboard was re-launched as a Brookings blog in order to offer more frequent, timely, and diverse content. Contributors to both the original paper series and current blog are committed to bringing evidence to bear on the debates around education policy in America.
Read papers in the original Brown Center Chalkboard series »
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Javier Hernandez is a Research Scientist at the Affective Computing group of the MIT Media Lab and Principal Investigator of the Emotional Navigation and Onsite Stress Measurement special interest groups. In addition, Javier is founder and CEO of Global Vitals LLC, an MIT Media Lab spin-off with the goal of democratizing physiological sensing.
Javier's research is focused on the development of emotionally intelligent tools to further the understanding of humans while fostering greater health and quality of life. In particular, Javier has made several contributions in the context of daily life stress and the use of technology to improve its measurement, understanding, and management. His work has been covered by a wide variety of media outlets such as National Geographic, The Economist, and The Times, and has received several recognitions such as MIT TR 35 and several best paper awards. He often provides guest lectures at MIT and other universities, and speaks at a wide variety of conferences and venues.
Javier received a B.S in Computer Systems Engineering in 2004 and an M.S in Information Technology in 2007 at Ramon Llull University (Barcelona, Spain), an M.S. in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence in 2010 at Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, USA), and a Ph.D. in Media Arts and Science in 2015 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, USA).


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Talking Poisons with Dr. Neil Bradbury
A little dab'll do ya.
By Elisa Shoenberger | Published Jul 8, 2021
In Dr. Neil Bradbury's A Taste for Poison, which publishes on October 19, 2021, he explores the history and science of 11 poisonous substances. Dr. Bradbury, professor, scientist, and writer, tells true crime stories of each poison as well as how the poison disrupts the normal functions of the body. It's a delightful and informative read for anyone who is fascinated by the world of poisons—and this includes virtually anyone who is a murder mystery or true crime aficionado.
Murder & Mayhem had the opportunity to talk with Dr. Bradbury about his work. Below, read our interview with an author who truly understands the power of poison.
Murder & Mayhem: What made you decide to write this book? What drew you to the particular subject?
Dr. Neil Bradbury: I'm obviously a scientist and medical school professor, so I've always been interested in science and a bit of a science geek. But I've always been interested in mysteries as well. So this seemed an obvious marriage between those two passions in my life. And looking through things, I found it really hard to find the kind of book that I wanted to read about the topic. And so not being able to find it, I decided to write one myself.
As a student of biochemistry as an undergraduate student, I spent all my time learning about the effects of different chemicals on the body. But there was actually one class…[where] they mentioned a chemical called Bongkrekic Acid, which pretty much nobody's ever heard of. As the professor was going through the effects on cells and tissues on it, I just thought, "I wonder if that could be used for murder, and no one's ever heard of it." Could you get away with it, since no one's ever heard of it? That's kind of been percolating in the back of my mind ever since then.
Nowadays, I try to include murders and poisonings in all my classes, as a way to give a different spin on what's going on. But I think it really does give an interesting perspective on just how the body works, and how you could interfere with the body. I guess it has been a lifelong interest of mine.
Many of the stories that I presented in class are included in the book. Now, obviously, the book is not intended for anybody reading it to end up with a medical degree. I did want it to be something that people who are interested in mysteries and science would enjoy reading, and also include a little bit of history as well.
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Why do you think people are so fascinated with poisons?
I think it's certainly something that resonates with everybody on a deep level. Most of us grew up with the stories of Snow White eating the poisoned apple. I think there's that kind of almost cultural curiosity.
But I think there's also some sense that poisons are almost magical. [When] we think about someone being hit over the head with a baseball bat or a tire iron, that's pretty obvious how that would kill someone. But when you're talking about poisons, you're really talking about just a few grains of a little white powder that looks totally innocuous, but can kill you, oftentimes rather quickly.
Related: Hidden Gems: Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers
It's also the fact that you can give someone a poison, and actually then be quite a distance away from the victim before they may succumb to it. So in terms of certainly murder mysteries, when the person dies, the murder can be several thousand miles away at the time of the death, but yet still be responsible for the death.
But different poisons will kill in quite different ways. And oftentimes the precise symptoms that a person would have when they're experiencing being poisoned can actually be quite useful in determining what they've been exposed to. One of the stories that I tell is a poisoning that occurred in Scotland. One of the victims was married to an anesthesiologist who immediately recognized the symptoms and was able to save his wife and son from dying from the poison, because he recognized those specific symptoms.
You did an incredible job communicating biological functions that the poisons impacted. Why was this important for the book?
I think that there really is a genuine interest in learning how poisons work and how they affect the body. People are generally interested in how the body works as well.
This is how the body normally works and it usually works pretty darn well. But if you put these poisons in, it can disrupt things. And also to really give some exposure to the fact that whilst we generally think of poisons as something nasty, something terrible, they are just chemicals at the end of the day, and they're not really good or bad. It's just how you use them. I'm thinking of people like [serial killer nurse] Charles Cullen, who used digoxin, which is a really important medicine in treating heart complaints. But if you abuse it, you can kill someone.
I also wanted to get across that there are these two sides of the coin as well. And oftentimes, some poisons contain drugs that can be used to treat other poisons. One of the things that I bring out in the book is that atropine on its own, if you take it in higher levels, will kill you. But I think also it came out in prominence just recently with the attempted assassinations of the Russian double agents in England in Salisbury. I guess just about 18 months ago, when they were poisoned with nerve agents, it turns out that one of the best antidotes for that is atropine.
How did you decide which poisons to include in your book? There's a lot of poisons out there to choose from.
Trying to narrow those down was quite difficult. Obviously, you've got to cover the big three (arsenic, cyanide, and strychnine). I wanted to pick out those poisons that really did illustrate the fact that they operate in different ways. Some poisons attack the nerves. Other poisons will attack the heart and stop it from beating. Other poisons will pretty much destroy the protein production inside every cell. I didn't want to come up with a whole series of poisons that all just worked in the same way.
I also wanted to find poisons that had really good stories associated with them, if I can say that a murder is a good story. How many times will you come across a story where someone had been poisoned in chicken curry?
Related: 11 Culinary Cozy Mysteries Bursting with Recipes for You to Try Out
What mysteries do you like to read? I presume Agatha Christie is one of them.
Obviously I read a lot of Agatha Christie growing up. That was certainly my main interest. [Also I read] the classic ones like Sherlock Holmes, who also included several poisons in some of his stories, and obviously other classics. I was more focused on British writers at the time. So people like Ruth Rendell...and also P.D. James, who I will admit, I kind of stole the title for my book from. She had written a book called A Taste for Death. So I admit, I somewhat purloined part of her title to put mine for A Taste For Poison.
Any final thoughts?
It certainly should be known that it's really difficult to get away with poisoning someone these days. The ability to detect even fairly exotic poisons has come in leaps and bounds since early times, and now it's pretty much impossible to come up with a poison that can't be detected. So if you're going to kill someone, probably poisoning is not the best way. Although in murder mystery books, you're free to run the gamut.
To learn more about the stories and science of poison, check out A Taste of Poison, out this October!